We Can Rule the World
by pennwise
Summary: Beatrice "Billy" Whitaker has had one of the worst summers. Due to unfortunate circumstances, she's back in her small hometown of Riverdale where her biggest fear is being the strange, quiet new girl with eyes and whispers following her around school. But with the mysterious death of Jason Blossom, she's the last thing on everyone's mind. Well, maybe not everyone's. JugheadxOC.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the _Archie_ Comics nor any recognizable storylines from the CW's _Riverdale_. I only own my character(s) and basic plot of this story. This is rated T for language and mature scenes.**

* * *

"So what happens now?"

"Well," Miss West sighed, removing her glasses to fold them on the polished wood desk in front of her. "We've been in contact with your family in Riverdale. They're your closest relatives and they've agreed to let you stay with them until… well, until further notice."

"Will they have custody of me?" she asked, staring down at the desk with pursed lips before meeting the woman's eyes. Miss West gave her a sympathetic look and took a few seconds to reply.

"With your mother's condition being what it is," she began carefully, "and the fact that you're unable to stay here with her, she has to forfeit the right of guardianship to you. So yes, for the time being, they will be your legal guardians. It may not be permanent," Miss West reminded her gently. "You still have another two years."

"And they're okay with it," she continued, more as a statement than a question as she ignored the last part of her comment. "Me staying with them."

"Yes," Miss West answered honestly. "It's your mother's brother. Of course he's okay with it. As is his son. You've met them before, right? Fred and Archie Andrews?"

"A few times," she answered. 'A few times' was a bit of an understatement. Before her and her parents moved away, she spent almost every weekend with them having grill-outs and picnics; your typical average neighborhood family. But that was a long time ago. A lot had changed since then. She hadn't spent any proper time with them in a good two years because her family couldn't afford to travel. That's what medical bills did to you. "I can still visit her right?"

"Whenever you want," Miss West nodded. "I'm assuming your mother's lawyer went over everything else? Money, for instance," she added almost apologetically as Billy looked away. "A lump sum of it went to remaining healthcare balances. Some was left in your mother's care currently tucked away in a safe deposit box, and some was left to you. It's a small amount but it can go a long way. You could use it to help settle in or save it for a rainy day," she suggested.

Billy didn't like thinking about the money. It was her Dad's money. It didn't feel right taking it.

"I want you to keep this," Miss West tore a sheet of paper from her notepad and handed it across to Billy who accepted it with ginger fingers. "It's a list of numbers – your mother's nurse, her lawyer, my number along with the insurance company's, and the location of that safe deposit box. Just in case."

Billy stared down at the chicken scratch of numbers, blinking at the barely legible seven-digit number along with Miss West's name next to the title of Social Services. For a woman of her age and field Billy didn't expect her to write like a doctor. They wrote badly on purpose, didn't they? So no one could forge their writing? Billy didn't know if that was actually true or not but if it was it just proved that Miss West didn't write badly on purpose.

"We'll just be a phone call away. If you need anything, anything at all," Miss West stressed, looking about ready to reach across the desk and grab Billy's hand, "don't hesitate to pick up the phone. If you need to get a hold of your mother, call the number below the nurse's. That's the number of the nurse's station which always has someone on call. I gave you Nurse Wanda's personal cell which works just as well but may not be as quick if it's an emergency and you need to get to your mother right away."

"Thank you," Billy said quietly. She was still having a hard time processing everything. It didn't feel like anything around her was actually happening, like she was watching a movie of someone else's life take place around her in real time.

"We have someone who can take you to your Uncle's house early tomorrow afternoon. It's about a two hour drive, too short for a plane ride, but I figure it'll be helpful to see how to get there from here in case you need to drive back yourself. I've already spoken with your Uncle so they'll be expecting you.

"I know it's not the most appealing idea in the world but I've asked him to register you at Riverdale High. I sent him your transcripts yesterday so he could start enrolling you now. Even though you missed the last week of freshman year, your GPA was high enough that missing some days didn't really affect you and luckily enough you already finished your final exams so you should be able to start with everyone else when the summer's over as a sophomore. It's still a few weeks away. It'll give you time to adjust to your new surroundings, maybe meet a couple people and get to know the town. Or rather, reintroduce yourself to the town. You probably hate me," Miss West mused, "but I think it'll do you some good. School will keep you occupied."

Billy didn't say anything, still gazing down at the sheet of paper in her hand with a faraway look in her eyes. Miss West watched her for a few seconds.

"Is there anything else you want to talk about?" she prodded lightly. Billy shook her head. "You know you can talk to me about anything." Lie.

"I know."

Miss West exhaled. "I know you're sick of hearing it so I won't say it, but… my condolences are with you and your mother."

Billy knew what she avoided saying. I'm sorry. That's all Billy ever heard lately. I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sorry to hear about your mother. I'm sorry, it must be _so_ hard for you. I'm sorry about the house. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

"Thanks," said Billy quietly. She quirked her lips sardonically. "I think she probably needs it more than I do."

"She's just grieving in a different way," said Miss West, sounding sure of herself. "Doesn't mean you're hurting any less. Doesn't dismiss the way you feel."

Billy took a deep breath. "They're letting me stay with her tonight, right?"

"Yes. It'd be a waste putting you in a foster home for one night. They're bending the rules a little bit," she gave a half-grin. "I'll stop by in the morning with the driver to see you off. Is there anything else?"

"I think we're good," said Billy, running her thumb over the paper full of sloppy phone numbers. Miss West looked her over another second or two before nodding. She stood from her chair and gestured to the closed door. Billy pushed herself out of the chair and opened the door, Miss West following her out.

She was escorted back to Hartford Hospital with the promise from Miss West that they'd meet again tomorrow. Hartford Hospital was a tall white building that had multiple smaller buildings branching off of it, turning it into a cluster of windows and geometric shapes that hurt your eyes. There was a small wing of the hospital dedicated to the mentally ill. They were almost like dorm rooms except with a bit more color and less freedom. _The Institute of Living_ they liked to call it, though the patients within looked like they wanted to do anything but. Billy didn't want to go in at first when everything started, too afraid of what she'd see. The media had portrayed psychiatric hospitals far too harshly, she realized, too macabre. Truth be told, most of her fears had nothing to do with the hospital itself and more to do with the woman who would be living there.

The psychiatric wing was actually quite colorful and peaceful, something that seemed to put Billy even more on edge. She was expecting white walls and cell blocks with patients leering at her through their tiny windows. If the situation had been different the halls might not have made her skin crawl like they did. A majority of the rooms were open and inviting and most of the patients just wanted to be left alone. Those Billy had come into contact with, all of which were either accidental or in passing, were polite and not at all intimidating and the staff was both friendly and accommodating.

But still. Her mother was in there.

Billy sent a brief smile to the nurse's station, eyes almost immediately finding Nurse Wanda's startling red hair. Billy continuously heard one of the patients referring to Wanda's hair as a ball of fire because it was so bright and vivid. Wanda found the comment endearing and it's not like Billy disagreed. Her hair probably could've directed ships through the fog on a stormy night.

Billy followed the winding corridor down to her Mom's room and paused in the doorway, spotting her mother resting in a chair near the window while the TV silently played some random sitcom. She watched the back of the woman's head for a good two minutes before she silently stepped into the room and removed her hoodie.

"Hi, Mom," she greeted in a light voice. The woman didn't acknowledge her and she stepped forward to place her hands on her Mom's shoulders, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of her head. "How's your afternoon?"

"Fine," her Mom said silently.

She maneuvered around the chair until she was kneeling at her Mom's side, propping herself up on the arm of the chair. A pair of tired brown eyes peered down at her and Billy still wasn't used to the lack of sparkle in her Mom's eyes. Talia Whitaker used to be such a force, so vivacious and full of spirit and life. Her smile had the ability to light up a room, to warm anyone's heart. Now when Billy looked at her, she only saw a shell of what once was. It made her feel nothing and everything all at once.

"Did you eat your lunch?" Billy asked even though she saw the tray full of fruit and soup on her mother's bedside.

"Yes," Talia answered as if Billy hadn't noticed. She sighed.

"You need to eat, Mom," she attempted to scold her, only managing to sound weary and drained.

"Not hungry," said Talia, unaffected by the fact that Billy broke her charade. "Did you talk to them?"

"Yeah," Billy leaned her head against her hand on the arm of the chair, looking up at her Mom with fatigue. "I'm leaving tomorrow."

"So soon?" Talia whispered, voice broken. Billy's nose twitched and she had to swallow down the urge to cry until her tears were spent.

"We've been planning this for two weeks, Mom," Billy reminded her gently.

"But we just had the funeral…"

"No, Mom," Billy shook her head, feeling drained. "That was over a month ago."

Talia looked lost with her eyebrows wrinkled, full lips pursed. Her eyes were sad. She looked away and returned her gaze to the open window. Billy followed the direction she was looking, spotting a cloudless blue sky with building tops blanketing the ground for miles. There was shuffling behind them and Billy looked over her shoulder, eyes landing on Wanda who was giving the full tray of food an unimpressed glower. Even though she was younger than Talia she still managed to make the expression look maternal and Billy's heart softened. Wanda's blue eyes met hers and she raised her delicately primed eyebrows that were as red as her hair.

Billy turned back to her Mom and stroked the top of her hand with her fingertips.

"You need to eat, Mom," she urged quietly. Talia turned her head further from Billy, pressing her nose into her shoulder. To an outsider it looked like she was sleeping but Billy knew better. She almost wished she hadn't. "Please, Mom. Please eat."

"Not hungry, Bea," she uttered, voice muffled into her sweater. Billy's throat hollowed at the familiar shortening of her name. Only her parents called her Bea.

Billy sighed in defeat, turning her attention back to Wanda who apparently heard everything. They shared a look and something in Billy's face made Wanda nod as if she heard her loud and clear. The woman wordlessly dismissed herself and Billy returned her head to the arm of the chair, keeping her Mom company as the room gave way to silence that made Billy's skin itch.

She spent the evening in the reclining chair next to her Mom's bed as they watched TV. Billy didn't pay much attention to what was on, instead thinking about what the following day was going to be like. What the following year was going to be like. The coils in her stomach tightened the longer she thought about it but she couldn't bring herself to focus on anything else. She worried that she'd only be a bother to her uncle and cousin, that her Mom would panic once she left and cry herself catatonic. She worried about feeling disconnected from her Mom, that separating would only manage to distance them even further. There were too many factors. Too many possibilities.

She almost wanted to call everything off. Refuse to go to Riverdale and stay with her Mom where she could take care of her. She'd taken care of her before. She could do it again.

But then she remembered what it felt like. What the responsibility felt like, knowing her mother's life was left in her hands. It was overwhelming. If she left her alone at the wrong time, if she looked away at just the right moment, it could've all been over. It was too much. This was better. The nurses here were professionals. They knew what they were doing. They weren't hindered by their emotions, by the responsibility of looking after the person who put them on this Earth. This was better. She would get better. She would heal. She just needed time.

Billy fell asleep sometime after one when the lights were dim and the door was shut. The TVs were scheduled to automatically shut off after idling for a certain amount of time. Talia was already sleeping, curled up into a tight ball under her white sheets and looking smaller than Billy. Billy's head was crooked at an odd angle as she rested her cheek on her closed fist. Her eyes slid shut slowly, the last thing she saw being her Mom's head of frizzy brown hair fanned out over her pillow, her delicate breathing lulling her to sleep.

She awoke a few hours later with a cramp in her neck, her head having fallen against the side of her mother's bed sometime in the night. She felt a bit detached from herself as she watched her Mom continue to sleep, her socked feet peeking out from the hem of her bedsheets. Billy tiredly pushed herself out of the chair, stretching and cracking her stiff joints before pulling the covers down over her Mom's feet. She dragged herself into the bathroom where she robotically breezed through her morning routine before clearing out her things off the sink. She packed away all of her belongings into a suitcase she brought over with the help of Miss West the day before.

Once she was finished, Wanda snuck into the room with a smuggled sandwich she handed to Billy from the lunchroom. Billy gave the woman a tender look and munched on it while the nurse went about her business, gently rousing Talia from her sleep.

"You want to use the shower, Billy?" Wanda asked as she helped Talia sit up. Billy wrapped up the rest of her sandwich to save for later and nodded.

"Yeah, thanks."

She showered and redressed in twenty minutes and before she knew it Miss West had arrived along with a burly man who had a kind smile and light-colored eyes.

"Billy, this is Jonathan. He's going to be your chauffer today," Miss West introduced her in the hallway outside her mother's room.

"Nice to meet you," Billy quietly shook his hand.

"Likewise," he said amicably.

"Are you all packed and ready to go?" Miss West asked. Billy nodded, stuffing her hands deep inside her jean pockets. The woman nodded. "I guess now's as good a time as ever?" she gave Billy a tender look.

Billy exhaled. "I guess so."

Saying goodbye to her Mom didn't feel the way she expected it would. Maybe it was because of the mental pep talk she gave herself the night before, or maybe it was the way her Mom's eyes glistened, seemingly more aware than the day before. Whatever it was, a part of her felt positive. There was sadness there too and uneasiness, some of her unsure if this really was the right decision, but there was hope as well.

"I love you, Mom," she whispered, kissing the woman's rosy cheeks. Talia had a soft grip on Billy's shoulders as they embraced, though it was mostly just Billy standing close to her and breathing in her lavender scent. "I'll call you, okay? Be good. Be safe," she kissed her other cheek and Talia's eyes flashed amber up at her.

"My sweet Bea," she cooed. She was in one of her better moods today. It made it easier to leave but it also made it harder. Her good moods were so few and far between that Billy wanted to stay back, to watch as her mother's full pink lips curved into a smile. She wanted to feel her warm hands cup her cheeks, feel her fingers run through her hair, feel loved.

"Love you, Mom," she said again because she felt like she needed to. Talia gave her a smile, one that made Billy feel like it was last year again when things were better. She saw the sun in that smile and she wanted it to consume her.

She turned and left the room before she let that happen.

Her breathing was ragged, heart palpitating in uneven beats when she reached the lobby. Her eyes burned and it took all of her will power not to turn around and run back. Miss West gripped her shoulders tightly when she caught up with her, grounding her, tethering her back to reality. She didn't let go until Billy's chest was no longer heaving, when her senses became more aware and she didn't feel like she was going to drown or sink to the floor.

"Breathe, Beatrice," Miss West soothed in her ear.

"I'm trying," Billy choked. "I'm trying."

It took another minute before Billy felt Miss West's hands fall away. Billy licked her lips and clutched the messenger bag tightly against her shoulder. Miss West appeared in front of her, her light pink shoes click-clacking against the linoleum floor. Jonathan looked wary as he slipped into view with her suitcase, slightly uncomfortable but no less sympathetic.

"Everything good?" Miss West asked.

Billy nodded even though it wasn't. "Yeah. Yeah, everything's good."

"If you need to take a minute…" Miss West started, only to be interrupted by Billy who shook her head.

"No, no I'm good. I'm ready. Let's go," she sniffed and wiped her eyes, walking forward with a purpose as the front doors to the hospital slid open. She breathed in the fresh air, closing her eyes tightly. Her fists slowly unclenched at her sides and when she opened her eyes again, Miss West and Jonathan were standing in front of her, watching her closely. "I'm fine," she stressed, a small smile curving up one side of her lips. "Promise."

Miss West gave a meaningful smile. "You've done well, Beatrice."

"Please," Billy gave the woman a slightly larger smile. "Call me Billy."

"Billy," Miss West conceded. "In that case, I think I should return the favor. Just call me Amy."

Billy nodded and gripped the messenger bag tightly over her shoulder.

"Jonathan's going to go get the car," Miss West—Amy—gave the man a pointed look and he nodded, tossing Billy another easy smile before disappearing into the congested parking lot with her suitcase rolling in tow. Once he was out of earshot, Amy turned to Billy and held her shoulders lightly in her grip. Her thumbs rubbed the material of Billy's hoodie and she watched the motion before pulling her eyes up to Billy's. "Be safe. Think about yourself," she instructed. "Enjoy the time with your family and don't worry too much about school. They'll go easy on you."

"Because they'll know?" Billy asked stiffly.

"No," Amy countered softly. "Because you're new," she shook Billy's shoulders lightly. "You'll be fine. You can call me if you need anything. I'll check in on your mother while I can."

"Thank you," said Billy, feeling a swell of gratitude for the woman. Despite her position and the fact that it was her job to help Billy adjust, she genuinely cared and that was something Billy couldn't forget. "For everything."

"You're welcome," Amy smiled. She gazed down at Billy for a few moments before pulling her into a loose hug. Billy was momentarily taken aback by the contact but carefully returned it nonetheless. Amy pulled away with slightly misty eyes and bestowed Billy with one last smile before a silver hatchback pulled up behind them. Amy gave Billy a quick thumbs up and before leading her to the passenger door where she pulled it open for her. After Billy climbed in she held the door open. "Safe," she reminded her.

"I will," Billy promised.

Amy nodded, satisfied, and shut the door. She waved and Billy watched her out the window as Jonathan pulled away, her smile following their car out the parking lot until they hit the main road.

Billy took another deep breath and leaned back into her seat.

 _Here we go._

XXX

The drive to Riverdale was long as expected. Billy spent most of her time with her earbuds in listening to music or an audible book, thankful that Jonathan didn't expect any sort of real conversation. He did stop once to put gas in the car about forty minutes or so away from the Andrews's and he offered to buy her a snack and drink which she gladly accepted. She took the gas pump out of the car while he was inside paying for their food and then they were back on the road.

Billy was leaning against the window with her earbuds still in when they passed Riverdale's welcome sign. Billy perked up a bit and watched the familiar green scenery roll by, recognizing a few buildings while others seemed either repainted or remodeled. Much to her relief the town still harbored its classic, small-townsy feel with its historical architecture that she always loved about it as a kid. It made the pressure in her chest lighten just a bit at the unmistakable 'home' vibes that were returning to her, even if it felt like a piece was still missing. She had a feeling it would always be that way as long as her and her Mom were separated.

They pulled up to a quaint, light-colored home in the middle of a clean looking neighborhood. Billy felt both like she'd seen this place yesterday and like she'd never seen it before. She immediately gazed down the road at her old house, realizing it—like many others—had been repainted which was what gave her such mixed feelings. Jonathan killed the engine and stepped outside, causing Billy to follow with a heaved sigh. Jonathan slipped around the back to retrieve her suitcase while she tugged her messenger bag from the backseat. She only just reached Jonathan when she heard the click of a door and she pulled her earbuds free from her ears, pocketing them in her hoodie pocket as she peered around the car.

A man stood tall on the porch with thick scruff and unkempt brown hair, hands stuffed in his jean pockets as their eyes locked. She hadn't seen her Uncle Fred in so long that for a split second her breath caught in her throat. And then her heart sank upon realizing that this was the first time she'd seen him without her Mom and Dad by her side. She felt tears sting her eyes and she pursed her lips, watching as his own mouth turned downward into a frown as he made his way down the steps.

She sidestepped Jonathan who had her suitcase on the ground and was closing the hatch and stopped a few feet away from Fred. His eyes skimmed her from head to toe, calculating how much she'd grown, how much her appearance had changed since they last saw each other.

"Billy," was all he said and that was it.

Billy closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around her Uncle's frame, resting her head beneath his chin as she squeezed her eyes shut. His arms immediately enveloped her and they hugged for an eternity, a minute, ten seconds, she couldn't tell. She could smell the familiar scent of sawdust and cinnamon spice on his flannel and a ghost of a smile spread across her lips. Some things never changed.

When they finally pulled away, Fred was grinning in an endearing sort of way that only Uncles seemed capable of and Billy was powerless not to return it.

"You got taller," he said, lifting a hand just below her shoulder. "Last time I saw you, you were about here."

"I had a late growth spurt," she told him, chuckling lightly.

"Does this mean I can't call you shortie anymore?" another voice chimed in from behind Fred. Billy leaned around him to see a familiar redheaded waltzing down the porch with a cheeky grin on his face. "Well, I guess I can. I'm still taller than you," he announced smugly once they were within arm's reach. Obviously he stood a good four or five inches taller than her.

"I was always destined to be shorter than you, Arch," she said. With that she pulled him into a hug as well, only to pull back right after with raised eyebrows. "Whoa, hello muscles."

Archie laughed. "Football."

"Right," Billy nodded, remembering how excited he'd been to try out. "My cousin the football player. I can't believe I'm related to a jock."

"Bite your tongue, Whitaker, or this jock won't be your bodyguard the first day of school."

Billy made a face at the reminder and Fred tousled her hair. "Don't worry, you've still got a couple weeks to go. But you're all registered, just need to pick up your schedule."

"Oh good," Billy mused. "Academics. Education."

"Very important things," Fred gave her a pointed look before walking over to snatch up her suitcase. "Let's get you settled. Thanks for dropping her off," he shook Jonathan's hand.

"No trouble. She's a good road trip partner. She doesn't ask to stop off at every other exit like my wife does," he grinned. He reached a hand out to Billy and she shook it. "Take care of yourself. Don't forget to let Amy know we made it in one piece or she'll have my head. She won't believe me if I tell her."

"I won't," Billy agreed with an easy smile. "Thanks for driving me."

With a salute Jonathan hopped back in the car and Fred gestured Billy ahead while he pulled her suitcase along. She followed Archie into the house, breathing in the fresh scent of pine and lemon—a smell their house always seemed to have. A dog barking startled Billy and she jumped, only to be tackled by a large brown dog that panted and slapped Archie's legs with its viciously wagging tail as it attempted to lick her face off.

"Hey, down Vegas! Down!" Archie scolded in vain. Vegas barked again, tongue lolling out of his mouth as Billy carefully stroked behind his ear.

"Wow, look at you, buddy. You've grown almost as much as I have," Billy scratched the dog's head and he jolted in his arms, his fury arms flailing against her chest before he finally pushed away from her. Billy pet him a few more times before Archie shooed him away.

"If we don't stop him now he'll never leave you alone," he chuckled. She smiled and pulled on the strings of her hoodie as Fred made for the staircase.

"We made up the spare bedroom for you," he said, lifting her suitcase. They trudged up the stairs, Vegas stomping closely behind as Billy glanced over each photograph on the wall. Fred motioned to the room at the end of the hall, depositing her suitcase on the bed once inside. Vegas tried jumping on the bed but Fred snapped his finger and the dog scurried back, but not before whining in weak protest. The room was simple and bare with a nice view of the street. "If you wanna repaint we could go to Home Depot one of these days and pick out some colors. Feel free to spice up the room anyway you want. You can hang stuff," he flicked a wrist, "do just about anything really. We never use this room."

"Thanks," Billy said with a small smile. "Maybe it'd be fun to repaint it later."

"Nothing wrong with a little summer project," Fred nodded as Archie squeezed around him in the doorway. "Archie's been helping me at work so we're not home a lot. You'll have the house to yourself but you don't have to stay cooped up inside. Explore the town, revisit everything if you want. As long as you're home before curfew."

"Or you could come with us to work and pour concrete," Archie suggested with a sarcastic smile. "It's _loads_ of fun."

"We're not gonna make her work, Arch," Fred scolded before narrowing his eyes. "I sense your words were sarcastic but I'll have you know it actually _is_ quite fun."

'No it's not,' Archie mouthed out of Fred's eye line. Billy's lips quirked up.

"Will I get as buff as you?" she teased as she began unpacking her messenger bag.

"You could try," Archie shrugged. "Maybe you'd look like a female Hercules by the time school starts."

"No one can look like Hercules more than you, Arch," Billy raised her eyebrows at his red hair and large biceps. He grinned again, flexing a bit.

"So," Fred interrupted them, rolling his eyes at his son. "I was thinking pizza tonight? Maybe watch a movie? I don't know. We don't exactly cook a lot so there's a lot of takeout most nights. Unless you want something else?"

"Pizza sounds good," Billy nodded, partially amused by how indecisive and awkward her Uncle was as a host.

"Toppings?"

"Doesn't matter," Billy shrugged, feeling the bed shake as Archie wiggled around on it. "Just no anchovies?" she winced.

"Don't worry," Fred smirked. "This is an anchovy-free house. I remember what happened the last time you had anchovies. I distinctly recall having to pick up the mess."

"No one told me there were anchovies on it," Billy defended herself with chagrin.

Archie wrinkled his nose. "Who puts anchovies in a pizza? Or pineapple?"

"I happen to like pineapple on pizza," Billy squinted at him.

"Absolutely disgusting."

Billy stuck her tongue out at Archie immaturely.

"Right," said Fred, still lingering by the door looking sorely out of place. "So no anchovies for Billy, no pineapple for Archie. Got it. I'll order it while you get situated," Fred made to leave but paused outside the door. He looked up at Billy with an uncharacteristically gentle look in his eye. "And Billy? Welcome home."

Billy's heart fluttered despite the circumstances, despite how much she didn't want to leave her Mom at first, despite everything that had happened the past month, despite the fact that her world was flipped upside-down like a roller coaster and she felt like she was slowly slipping out of the seat.

"Thanks Uncle Fred," she said sincerely. With a nod Fred disappeared down the hall, his boots thumping on the stairs as he descended into the kitchen, presumably to find the phonebook. Vegas nuzzled the outside of her thigh before following after Fred, seeming to find his shuffling downstairs much more interesting.

With that Billy and Archie were left in silence. Billy unzipped her suitcase and rummaged through it, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the fact that this was the first time her and Archie were alone in at least five years. Half a decade.

It was unreal how fast time had flown by, especially since the more she spent in the house, the more it felt like just yesterday she lived down the road from him. Her and Archie were close. As close as cousins could be, anyway. They got along really well and even though they didn't spend much time together at school or during the week, they'd reunite almost every weekend as if they'd seen each other the day before. It was crazy to think how much that could change just because Billy moved two hours northeast. Even when her family would visit them over the holidays it was obviously something had shifted. Things weren't the same. They grew up apart which meant inevitably they grew apart as well. At the funeral Archie had barely spoken two words to her, not that she really expected him to. He probably had no idea what to say.

Archie had a troubled look on his face as Billy pulled her toiletries bag free from one of the pouches. The quiet made Billy anxious, hating the fact that Archie was tiptoeing around her whether it was on purpose or just an absentminded thing. With everything that happened, the last thing she could take was Archie avoiding her just to spare her feelings. She didn't even know _what_ she was feeling.

"You can ask you know," Billy said, breaking the silence. Archie furrowed his eyebrows at her and Billy could tell he was trying not to be obvious. She gave him a tight half-smile before looking back down at her suitcase. "She's your family, too."

Archie didn't say anything for a few seconds.

"How is she?" he finally asked, kicking aside the charade.

Billy exhaled slowly and leaned back, honestly contemplating the question. "Alive and coping."

Archie gave her a serious look, flashing his warm brown eyes up at her. "And how are you?"

Billy stared at him for a moment. "Alive and coping," she repeated.

His lips thinned. "I guess that's all anyone can ask."

Billy started unloading the clothes from her suitcase to fold them in the dresser across the room. Archie fiddled with the sleeves of one of her sweaters, the only sound being her shoes squeaking against the floorboards as she carried a few articles of clothing at a time.

"How long is she going to stay there?" he then asked.

Billy sighed and returned to the bed, plopping down adjacent from him in front of her half-empty suitcase.

"As long as it takes," she said. She gave a shrug, trying to ignore the way her stomach clenched. "It's undecided. We'll know when she does."

Archie leaned back against the pillows, resting against the headboard. He shook his head as he stared up at the ceiling.

"God, this summer's just been…"

"Sucky," Billy answered for him. He looked over at her. "It really, really sucked."

His eyes were somber when they returned to the ceiling. "Yeah, it sucked," he agreed. "You know what happened here? Some kid drowned last month. He was the golden boy at our school. It was a freak accident and the whole town's been in an uproar. There's been nonstop investigations."

"That's horrible," Billy remarked, brows pulled together. "He was our age?"

"Yeah."

"Drowning," Billy shook her head. "Not a good way to go. But I heard it's like falling asleep, it happens pretty fast so… hopefully he didn't suffer."

Archie was watching her again. "Your dad's not suffering anymore, Billy."

"I know," she nodded. Her eyes were misty and she blinked until they were clear again. She gave him a wan smile. "That's actually one of the few things that make this easier. He's not… inhibited anymore, wherever he is. He gets to be him again. He's not trapped in his own body."

"No," Archie said softly. "No, he's not."

Billy opened and closed her mouth a few times. "You know, during his last few days, he didn't even know who I was."

"Billy, you don't have to—"

"No, it's okay," she swallowed. "I wasn't able to talk about it with my Mom. It's just," she looked down, wringing her fingers in her lap. "During his last few days he didn't even know who I was and… and at the time it was bad. It was really bad. It hurt so much that I cried myself to sleep one night which was a first for me but… in a way it made things easier, too. His last days I spent most of my time either crying or trying not to cry but back when he actually did recognize me, when he still had the ability to perceive what was going on around him, I was happier. My Mom was happier. So I just have to remind myself that the last time he saw us, I mean really saw us, we weren't sad. We were smiling and laughing and trying to make him comfortable. And… that helps."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, voice wrought with emotion. His eyes were glossy and Billy was reminded that her Dad was his Uncle. He wasn't just some person giving her their robotic condolences, someone who didn't even really know her Dad. He was hurting just as much as she was except maybe in a different way.

"Yeah, me too," Billy played with her fingers some more.

" _Pizza'll be here in twenty minutes!_ " Fred called from downstairs. " _When you're ready come down so we can pick a movie!_ "

"Okay!" Archie called back. He pushed himself up and off the bed and Billy stood with him but she paused. Archie noticed her hesitation and tilted his head.

"Are you sure you guys are okay with me staying here?" she asked carefully. "I hate that I'm intruding. It's not an easy adjustment."

Archie's face softened. "Billy… we're not letting you stay in a _foster_ home," he murmured fiercely. "Of course it's okay. You're family."

Billy licked her lips to conceal a heartfelt smile that Archie would've surely teased her for. "Your Dad's never had a teenage girl in the house before. At least, not as long as I'm going to be here."

"Trust me," Archie tossed an arm around her neck and steered her out of the room. "That's what I'm going to enjoy the most. At times I may even have a camera on hand."

"Why are you so mean to your father?" Billy asked in a disapproving voice even though there was an amused smile on her face.

"He's making me pour _concrete_ all summer," Archie deadpanned as they made their way down the stairs. "I deserve to have this one."

"I'm not messing with him on purpose just for your enjoyment," Billy denied immediately.

"I'm not asking you to," Archie assured her, tugging on a strand of her hair near his hand. He considered something and then backtracked. "I mean, maybe just a little tantrum? Enough to make him flustered and do that thing where he stutters and rubs his forehead?"

"No, Archie, I'm not going to torment your father with female angst."

" _What was that?_ " Fred shouted from the living room.

"Nothing!" Archie was quick to holler back. "What if I gave you $5?"

"You're really desperate, aren't you?" Billy grinned.

"Concrete, Billy. _Concrete_. In _98-degree_ weather."

They ended up watching a comedy. It felt good to laugh again, the rumble in her chest almost unrecognizable to her but no less elating. But by the time the movie was over and her stomach was full, Billy was mentally drained. The weight of the day was weighing heavy on her despite the early hour and she politely dismissed herself after helping them clean up their mess, both Archie and Uncle Fred thankfully unoffended by her desire for some alone time.

She trudged up the stairs and gently closed the bedroom door behind her, staring blankly at the empty suitcase on the bed. Her bed. Tapping the side of her legs, she ambled around the room to get a good look at what she had to work with. The ceilings were tall with cream-colored walls and there was enough room left underneath the window for a desk. Her laptop was resting at the foot of the bed in its bag and she'd need something to sit it on when she had homework.

Billy gracefully sat on the edge of the bed with her hands in her lap, eyes flitting around the room. This was her room now. This was her life. A wave of sadness washed over her and Billy had to swallow down the urge to cry even as her eyes stung with unshed tears. Her throat felt hollow and as she sat there in the quiet she felt like an outsider, like she was looking through a film at someone else's life she didn't belong in. She felt alone. She knew isolating herself would make her feel this way but at the same time she'd exhausted her social etiquette. She needed time to think.

She missed her Dad. She missed her Mom. She'd already been through the 'everything's unfair' stage but it didn't make it any less true. In a perfect world her Dad would've never gotten sick. In a perfect world she wouldn't have lost him, and in return, lost her Mom, too. In a perfect world she'd be back home in Connecticut listening to her Dad strum his guitar as her Mom whistled along with the tune.

The world definitely wasn't perfect but she already spent too many nights hating it. She was determined not to do that here. She wasn't her Mom. And that wasn't even her trying to convince herself she wasn't. She knew she wasn't. She knew she had to move on. She had to get past it even if it sucked. She would find a way to exist in a world where her Dad didn't. It would just take some time.

But as she curled up on top of the covers in her jeans and t-shirt, knees bent to accommodate the suitcase that still rested on the bed with the lights still on, she couldn't help but think one more time that everything, absolutely everything, was just really unfair.

XXX

Billy awoke with a start the next morning, feeling a dull throbbing behind her eyes and a cotton-dryness in her mouth. She blinked at the ray of sunlight filtering in through the blinds, vaguely remembering waking up in the middle of the night to see that her bedroom light had been turned off and the covers were pulled up her neck. She twisted around to see Archie peering in through the doorway with an apologetic look on his face.

"Sorry to wake you," he said a bit sheepishly. "Dad and I are heading over to the site soon so we wanted to make sure you were okay before leaving. There's breakfast downstairs," he added with a hopeful half-grin. She ran her fingers tiredly through her messy hair.

"I thought you guys didn't cook?" she rasped.

"If there's one thing my Dad can cook," he said, grinning wider, "it's a mean pancake breakfast. Blueberries and strawberries included. Sometimes there's Nutella and powdered sugar, too. It's like diabetes on a plate."

"Yum," Billy said even though she typically didn't eat breakfast. She stretched, face scrunching up at the way her jeans were twisted under the covers. "Give me five minutes and I'll be down."

"Cool," he tapped the doorframe before leaving to give her privacy.

Billy rubbed her eyes a few times before forcing herself to roll out of bed. That same hollow feeling was left over from the night before and part of her just wanted to crawl back in bed after they left and sleep the day away. But if the headache she had was anything to go by and the way her limbs felt like lead, she had more than enough sleep.

She curled her lip at the fact that she'd been wearing the same wrinkled t-shirt and jeans for the past twenty-four hours but she couldn't bring herself to change. She brushed her teeth and tried taming her hair a bit in the bathroom mirror before making her way downstairs where she heard Uncle Fred and Archie chatting idly as silverware clanked against their plates.

"Morning," Fred greeted when she entered the kitchen. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah," she dutifully didn't mention how he must've been the one to shut off her light and cover her up. It probably would've only made him uncomfortable and clear his throat too many times. Something Archie would probably find way too much pleasure in. "Thanks. You made breakfast?"

"It's a pancake smorgasbord," he pointed his fork towards the leaning tower of pancakes, all stuffed with either blueberries or strawberries. "Pick your poison."

Billy made herself a plate, taking two pancakes even though she was almost positive she wouldn't finish them. She cringed at the way Archie's pancakes were lathered in syrup until there was a sticky puddle almost spilling off the plate and instead was much more frugal with her syrup, using about a third the amount he did.

The three of them stood around the kitchen while they ate, Billy's eyes involuntarily skirting over to Archie's biceps he had on display with his tank top. She couldn't believe how much he'd changed. Last time she saw him, before the funeral, he was tall and lanky with only minimal body muscle. If it weren't for his flaming red hair and sweet smile she wouldn't even recognize him.

"You sure you're going to be alright by yourself?" Fred asked, seemingly unsure as he rinsed his plate. "I hate to leave you here alone on your first full day with us. Maybe Archie should stay home with you."

Archie perked up at this but Billy shook her head.

"I don't want you guys to change your routine or anything just to accommodate me. Don't worry about it," she assured him with a small smile. "I'll be fine. I think maybe it'll help being alone. I can… adjust at my own pace."

"Well if you're sure," Fred still looked skeptical.

"Maybe I'll take a walk," Billy said, thinking out loud. "Get to know the town again."

"Not much has changed," said Fred halfheartedly.

"Just don't go too far downtown," Archie advised, lips shiny and sticky as he rinsed his own plate off. "Remember the kid I told you about yesterday? His family's doing this charity thing by the courthouse trying to raise money for whatever," Archie looked like he wanted to roll his eyes but figured it'd be too disrespectful. "Doesn't make any sense because they already had the funeral so what other expenses are there? It's not like they don't have plenty of money as it is."

Fred didn't look too happy with Archie's comment but he didn't say anything. "I hope they figure out what happened to that boy. It's just not right. I mean, here? In Riverdale?" he waved his hands around. "Things like that don't just happen."

Billy paused mid-chew, feeling like she was missing something. "I thought he drowned?"

Archie hesitated, his face twisting into some emotion Billy couldn't identify.

"Well, it was ruled as an accidental drowning but the thing is," his forehead wrinkled, "they never found the body."

Billy felt her blood turn to ice. "But didn't you say they had a funeral?"

Archie was visibly uncomfortable now. "They buried an empty casket."

"What?" Billy felt horrified. "But why? If they didn't find a body then he might still be alive. Isn't this more like a missing person's case? Why would his family do that?"

"He has a twin sister who has some sort of twin telepathy thing with him or whatever, or at least she says she does. She claims to know he's dead even after they swept the lake and found no traces of him. That's why there's so many investigations going on," he reported stiffly. "It could be a homicide. So just… steer clear of downtown. You don't wanna get mixed up in any of that. They'll hassle you for money and guilt trip you if you don't. Trust me. Been there, done that."

Billy frowned, not liking the dark twist her hometown had suddenly taken.

"Why would his family give up so easily?" she asked, baffled. "What kind of closure is that?"

Archie sighed wearily. "The Blossoms are an enigma."

Something in Billy's mind clicked. "Blossom," she repeated. "Why does that name sound so familiar?"

"Probably because they've been more or less running this town since the beginning of time," he retorted dryly. Billy made a sound in the back of her throat.

"Go time," Fred announced after checking the time on the microwave. "Billy, our phone numbers are on the fridge. Typical Mom thing to do, I know," he rolled his eyes, exasperated with Archie's smirk. "Just plug them into your phone when you get the chance and call one of us if you need anything. Here's some money," he said slowly as he dug through his wallet, pulling out two twenties and handing them to her. "If you want to go to the store and grab some snacks or whatever you like, go ahead. I can leave the truck. You have your license, right?"

"A Connecticut license," Billy raised an eyebrow.

Fred floundered for a moment before pointing at her. "I'll get back to you on that one."

She smiled lightly again. "I can just walk like I said before. It's no big deal. Pretty sure I remember where most of everything is."

Fred made his way to the front room, throwing on another flannel shirt. "Call us if you need us," he reminded her. "For anything."

"Will do," Billy nodded, holding the front door open for them.

"Remember Pop's Diner? Chock'Lit Shoppe?" Archie asked as he followed his Dad out the door. Billy nodded, vaguely recognizing the name and its clever play on the word chocolate. "You should go there and get a milkshake. Best welcome back present you'll find."

"I'll keep that in mind," Billy chuckled. She waved as they scrambled down the porch to the truck. "Don't pour too much concrete! You won't have anything to do the rest of the summer," she smirked. Archie gave her a false laugh.

"Be good, _Beatrice_."

She waved again as they pulled out of the driveway and onto the road. Fred gave her one last wave before the truck disappeared down the road and Billy watched it go, staring in the direction it left in until she felt too warm from the humid summer air. She closed the door with a _whoosh_ , feeling the perspiration tickle her forehead. She turned and leaned back against the door, meeting Vegas's eyes who was watching her with a tilted head.

"It's just you and me, pal," she said. "What should we do?" Vegas made a noise in the back of his throat and spun around, ambling into the living room where he plopped down on his large doggie bed in the corner and looked up at her with his wide eyes. "Yeah," she huffed a laugh through her nose. "I agree."

Rather of sitting down with him though, she instead made her way upstairs so she could take a shower and finally peel her clothes off.

She stayed in the guest shower until she felt satisfied that enough of Hartford was washed off of her before she got out, wrapping a towel around her body before wiping the condensation off the mirror. She gazed at her reflection with pursed lips, spotting the stripe of swollen skin under her eyes. The stress of the summer had piled up above her cheekbones and it showed, making her eyes look dull and her cheeks thin. She fingered her wet hair that landed a few inches below her jawline, smoothing a strand of grey-blonde hair between her thumb and pointer finger. Her hair feathered from its natural dark brown halfway down into a light grey where her ends had washed out. Every few weeks or so she'd put a vibrant color over the blonde until it grew out enough. Eventually—maybe once or twice a year—she'd cut off the blonde ends and have them re-bleached so she could start the process over again.

She'd neglected the routine for a while now. She didn't know what color she wanted to do next or if she even wanted to do one at all. It was a tradition of her old life, a symbol of who she once was. She didn't know if she was that person anymore. She couldn't tell, didn't know if enough time had passed for her to really know.

She gave the mirror one last look before she towel-dried her hair and dressed into a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Feeling refreshed and like she'd made a successful step forward, however minimal it was, she made her way back downstairs to see that Vegas remained where she left him. She paused in the middle of the living room, unsure of what to do next. She figured now was as good a time as any to take that walk she talked about all morning, even if she wasn't completely motivated to do it. Maybe she could try to find the Chock'Lit Shoppe Archie mentioned. A chocolate milkshake didn't sound half bad.

Eyeing the clock, she saw that about an hour had passed since they left. She strolled over to the fridge and copied the numbers Uncle Fred had written down into her phone. She pulled up a new text message to Archie.

 _Hey it's Billy. What should I do with Vegas if I walk around?_

It only took about a minute before he replied. She wondered if her Uncle would confiscate Archie's phone if she texted him enough. The idea made her grin a little.

 _You can take him with you or put him in his kennel. Doesn't matter_

Billy glanced over at Vegas and as if the dog knew he was being talked about, he lifted his head in her direction.

"You wanna go for a walk?" she asked him. He whined and put his paws over his muzzle, looking up at her with his big brown eyes. "I don't blame you," she sighed. "Alright, just this once you can stay home but I'm taking you with me tomorrow. Just because it's summer doesn't mean you can be lazy."

She walked over to his kennel and opened the door. Vegas didn't need much persuasion before he walked inside and curled up on his other bed. After filling his water bowl and placing it inside, she went upstairs to grab her wallet and earbuds before throwing on the first pair of shoes she could find and slipping out the door. Having remembered where their spare key was, she locked the front door before pocketing it and making her way down the porch. She shielded her eyes from the blistering sun, squinting up at it as if it personally offended her.

She glanced from left to right down the road before settling on making a right out of the yard. She walked at a steady pace with her earbuds in, listening to her music on shuffle. Despite the heat it was a nice day out and the smell of freshly mown grass filled her senses as she passed house after house until she reached the street corner. She headed in the direction she knew led into the smaller half of town where, if she wasn't mistaken, Pop's Diner was located. There weren't many people out on the sidewalks aside from the occasional bicyclist. Billy hummed along to her music, matching her stride with the tempo, and let her memory lead her to a large intersection on the outskirts of "downtown" Riverdale.

She paused at the light, peering up and down the road with narrowed eyes. Her mental GPS was failing her at this point and she decided to take a guess, crossing the intersection and continuing left. The streets were slightly more congested the further she got into town, quaint shops popping up along the sidewalk. Billy spotted a florist, dry cleaning, a dainty little clothing boutique and a coffee shop along one of the strips. She filed the coffee shop away for later in case she needed a pick-me-up.

She ended up crossing two more intersections still with no signs of the diner before she realized she might be lost. Her lips thinned and she branched off down one of the roads with trees littered on each side. The shade felt about ten degrees cooler and she idly glanced around, not really recognizing the area before a familiar school crosswalk sign appeared. Knowing this wasn't where her elementary school used to be, she furrowed her brows and crossed through it, trailing up a slight hill before a red-brown brick building came into view over the expanse of trees.

It was an older looking building faded from time and weather with rows of windows decorating its face and a large engraved sign at the top that read RIVERDALE HIGH SCHOOL. Billy's thighs ached by the time she reached the top of the incline and she paused in the small caul-de-sac in front of the school, head tilted back as she observed the building with mixed feelings. She then stared ahead at the two red double doors that waited at the top of a flight of concrete stairs. In less than a month she'd walk through them for the first time as a new girl once again.

When she was younger being new wasn't all that special. Kids didn't really care whether you lived there your whole life or just for a few days. They were all pretty welcoming because that was just in their nature. But Billy didn't expect high school to be the same. At least her freshman year she went into it knowing most of her classmates. Now she only knew one.

Billy walked a few paces to the left where a patch of grass sat on the side of the building and plopped herself down under a cover of branches. She briefly wondered if she'd get in trouble for sitting on closed public property. She mused how ironic it'd be if she got kicked out of school before it even started.

She fell back against the grass with a sigh, gazing up through the canopy of the large oak tree. Sunlight was spilling in through the cracks, sparkling against the leaves and she watched the wind tousle the branches. Her eyelids began to feel heavy and she blinked slowly a few times, the breeze ruffling her hair. She didn't know when her eyes fell shut, only that the smiling faces of her Mom and Dad were the last thing she saw before she was out.

She jolted awake sometime later feeling groggy and disoriented. She lifted her head, squinting up at the blurry image of Riverdale High standing four stories above her head. The sun had moved a bit in the sky, no longer directly above her but instead at a slight angle. She dropped her head back into the grass to rub her eyes with the heels of her hands before running her fingers through her hair. It took a good five minutes before she felt competent enough to sit up, wincing at the ache in her temples from too much sleep.

Her stomach was growling a bit when she finally checked the time. It was a little after 2:30 and she blinked dumbly at the fact that she slept for two hours in her new high school's front yard. Thankfully the school was isolated just enough that there was a slim chance anyone actually saw her. She had a feeling if they did they would've immediately called the police because a still body sprawled out in front of the school had to have been a bad omen. Especially with the news of that Blossom kid still hovering over the town.

Billy made her way back home by retracing her steps, completely forgetting about her mission to find Pop's Diner. Dark clouds were rolling in from the south as she finally approached the house, digging through her pocket to find the key. Vegas started barking the second she turned the key and she winced through her headache at his piercing whines, kicking the door shut behind her before running to his kennel. She let him outside and he did his business while she leaned against the back of the house, the image of her parents still on the forefront of her mind.

She looked at her phone for a few seconds before she decided to dial Nurse Wanda's number. It rang four times before she answered.

" _Hello?_ "

"Hi Wanda, this is Billy. Um, I was just calling to check up on my Mom. Is she… is she available?" Billy had no idea how to do this.

" _Oh, sweetie… now's not really a good time._ "

"What?" Billy panicked, straightening her spine. "Why not? What's wrong?"

" _She's sleeping,_ " Wanda said, voice apologetic. Billy's shoulders slumped and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh," Billy rubbed her forehead. "Well… she's doing alright, isn't she?"

" _Yeah. Yeah, she is. She's still not eating much but I suckered her into trying a piece of chocolate cake last night. She seemed to enjoy it._ "

"Chocolate cake always was here favorite," Billy smiled softly. "Did it have chocolate icing, too? That was always the kiss of death for Mom."

" _Vanilla,_ " Wanda said distractedly. Billy heard voices in the background. " _Billy, honey, I've got a new patient coming in so I'm going to have to let you go._ "

"Oh, okay," Billy tried to mask her surprise at the abruptness. "Um, well give my Mom a hug for me."

" _Will do. Bye, sweetie._ "

There was a click before Billy could say anything back. She pulled her phone back with pinched eyebrows, trying to ignore the anxiety rolling through her and the disappointment that pooled in her gut. She didn't want to feel too upset that she didn't get to hear her Mom's voice or speak to her. This was always how it was when she lived in Hartford. Sleep was an important aspect of a patient's wellness at _The Institute of Living_ , as Billy was told more times than she cared to count. Whenever she tried visiting when her Mom was asleep, they either shooed her away or made her wait until her Mom woke on her own. Billy appreciated their concern. She really did. But it's not like she would've forced her Mom awake. She was perfectly fine sitting back and watching the steady rise and fall of her Mom's chest.

Just knowing she was alive and breathing was enough for Billy.

The ominous rumble within the storm clouds above snapped Billy out of her reverie and she shot the sky a look before urging Vegas back inside as it began to sprinkle. She slid the back door closed behind her before strolling into the kitchen. She sent Archie a quick text asking about food for Vegas and she peered into the fridge for a snack of her own until he replied.

 _Pantry. Bottom shelf._

She retrieved the bag of dog food and poured a generous amount into Vegas's bowl. He went to town the second she sat it down with his water and she listened to him crunch and scoot the bowl across the wood floors while pulling sandwich ingredients out for herself.

By the time she was walking over to the couch with a ham sandwich and a glass of tea, Vegas's was already licking his floppy lips on the floor. Billy turned on the TV, flipping through the channels until she settled on a low budget horror film to pass the time. It didn't take long after she was done eating before Vegas hopped on the couch beside her, nervous by the gentle storm taking place outside. She scratched behind his ear until he laid his head in her lap.

The rest of the day went by with Billy and Vegas being couch potatoes. She went between watching what was on TV and skimming through her phone, receiving the occasional text from her friend Nathan back in Hartford.

 _Hows rivendell?_

 _That's an elvish city, you goon._

She was surprised to hear the sound of a truck rumbling out front at around 4:30. Two sets of boots echoed on the porch before the lock was turned and the front door open. They clambered into the front room like a herd of elephants and Vegas looked mildly put-off by their noisy arrival.

" _We're home!_ " Uncle Fred called.

"In here!" she shouted back.

They made their way into the living room, Archie looking exhausted and thrilled to be home.

"Hey," Fred said, removing his flannel that now had sweat stains under the arms. "How'd it go today?"

Billy shrugged. "Not very eventful. I found the high school," she said, cleverly leaving off the part where she took a nap beside it. "You guys only work six hours?" she changed the subject, frowning a bit in confusion.

"Not usually but the rain had other plans," said Fred, going through some papers on the counter in the kitchen.

Archie plopped down on the couch beside Billy, reeking of sweat and dirt. She wrinkled her nose at him, feeling Vegas hop off the couch to give Fred some attention.

"And how was _your_ day?" Billy asked a bit dryly.

"Long, hot, boring," Archie leaned back and rubbed his face. "I'm tired and in need of a nap. Like, an eight-hour nap."

"I thought you were supposed to be a tough guy," she smiled lightly. "I'm the one that pants after seven seconds of cardio, remember?"

"I've learned that football and construction are two completely different things."

"No," Billy gasped in false surprise. "Really? I'm so taken aback by this information."

Archie narrowed his eyes at her. "You think touchdowns in football are goals."

"Are they not?" Billy squinted.

Archie deadpanned. "I just told you they're _touchdowns_."

"Why are they called touchdowns?" Billy wondered out loud. Archie just stared at her. "I mean, the whole point is to not let the football touch the ground, right? You don't want it to _touch down_ on the ground. So why call it a touchdown?"

"Because," Archie waved his arms around intelligently, trying to come up with an answer. "Because you _touched down_ on the winning side."

"That's anticlimactic. They should be called goals."

"You can't have a goal without a net," Archie argued.

"Who said?" Billy retorted.

Archie rolled his eyes. "You're impossible."

Billy gave him a fond smile, the warmth in her stomach returning at the familiarity between them coming back. She missed this. She missed how they used to argue about meaningless things just for the sake of arguing and knowing they had someone who would always fight back. This was what she remembered about growing up, besides the relentless teasing Archie always gave her for being so short. It was moments like these she had when she was little that made her feel like she wasn't an only child. Archie was the closest thing she had to a brother and she was thankful that at least this _one_ thing hadn't changed. He was her constant.

Later that night after having Chinese take-out, Archie and Billy slipped outside and climbed up on the railing of the porch, their legs dangling as they gazed up at the stars trying to peek through the foggy clouds. The nighttime air was cool and smelled of rain, the wet grass glistening under the luminescence of the moonlight.

Billy spotted something out of the corner of her eye and glanced to the side, noticing a figure watching them from the second story of the house next door. They disappeared into the yellowish glow of their room and Billy didn't remove her gaze until Archie spoke up.

"That's Betty's house," he told her. She turned to look at him and he elaborated, "Betty Cooper. She's my best friend. I think you met her once a few years ago. The year we went on that camping trip and your Dad brought his guitar."

"Oh yeah," Billy laughed. "We played songs around the pit until your Dad's pant leg caught on fire," Archie's shoulders shook from laughter at the memory and Billy's chest felt light for once at the thought of her Dad. "You played some songs too if I remember correctly," she gave him a half-smile. "You still play?"

Archie fiddled with his hands in his lap. "Yeah, every now and then. I sing too sometimes."

"Really?" Billy asked, surprised but also not. Despite how Archie may seem, she could definitely picture him as the singer-slash-songwriter type. He had the mind for it not to mention the skill. There weren't a lot of things Archie wasn't good at. "Can I hear sometime?"

Archie flashed her a small smile. "When I finally have something done then sure."

She didn't say anything for a second.

"I think you got that from my Dad," Billy mused. She felt Archie's eyes on her, feeling the warmth of his arm brush against hers at the movement. "He was always really musical. Always had a guitar out playing some old song you never hear anymore," she smiled absently at the picture that formed in her mind of a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and a deep blue six-string in his lap. "I think the last song he ever played was Annie's Song," she gave Archie a quick smile. "By John Denver. It was one of his favorites. He sang it to my Mom all the time because her middle name's Anne. Even when he was hurting he still sounded good. Anything to make her smile."

"I'll have to learn that one," Archie said. Billy chuckled but didn't disagree. She imagined he'd do the song just as much justice as her Dad did. "If only my Dad loved music as much as yours did."

Billy could see he was troubled by the stiffness of his shoulders and the way he bowed his head.

"He will someday," she assured him. "You'll see."

Archie hummed, not commenting more on the subject. She felt him looking at her again, studying the side of her face.

"You ever going to put more of that teal color in your hair?" he asked, gesturing vaguely to her hair that hung limply just below her chin. She looked down at it as if she could see it, pulling at the strands closest to her.

"I don't know. Maybe."

The two were silent for a moment, just enjoying the peaceful atmosphere as the stars continued to twinkle above whenever the clouds slipped away.

"We're going to be okay, right?" she looked at her cousin, only able to see his silhouette and the flash of his eyes in the dark. "We'll get through this year, won't we?"

Archie took a deep breath before nodding.

"Yeah, yeah we'll get through it," he paused for a second. "I mean, it's only sophomore year, right? How bad can it be?"

* * *

 **First off I just wanted to say that I did _not_ expect this first chapter to be so long. I'm a long chapter kind of person but this one kind of just got away from me after the first few thousands words. Yikes. Sorry about it.**

 **So here's my new story. Riverdale. Let me just start off with a disclaimer: I've _never_ seen any of the Archie comics. I won't even pretend to be familiar with them or act like I know what I'm talking about in terms of validity or what have you. I'm basing everything off of what I've seen in the TV show _only_ which, so far, I'm already pathetically addicted to. I've been excited for this show since last year when they started hyping it up and I'm more or less in love with Jughead Jones because honestly. I love how witty and cynical and how much of an absolute sarcastic shit he is. Plus he's already got a real special place in my heart. Also, Cole Sprouse. Need I say more? I'm feeling kind of really nervous about the fact that the Riverdale section on here is so small. I don't want to disappoint anyone with my lack of knowledge on the comics or how I portray the characters in the show. I'm really hoping I get their personalities right but it's hard considering how early we are in the show. Let me know if you find any discrepancies and I'll try to fix whatever needs fixing. Otherwise I'm just going to have to rely on my imagination.**

 **And yes, just to clarify now, this is going to be a JugheadxOC story. Like I said I've not read the comics but I have heard that he's asexual and I recognize that. Not sure if that's going to be portrayed in the show or not but I would like to explore it in this story. It'll be a challenge but it's a challenge I'm excited to take. I can't wait to introduce him next chapter and work our way into the school year. I didn't want to immediately start off on episode one because I thought it'd be interesting to bounce back a little bit, plus I don't want to catch up with the show as it airs.**

 **Let me know what you guys think! I know there's not much to go on so far so I get if it's hard to tell how you feel from this chapter alone. This was mostly an introductory to Billy and a little bit of her backstory. Also: this story is heavily inspired by the song "Maybe Tonight" by The Summer Set. I highly recommend you check out their music video on Youtube because I feel like everything about it from start to finish explains this story perfectly.**

 **Until next time guys!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the _Archie_ Comics nor any recognizable storylines from the CW's _Riverdale_. I only own my character(s) and basic plot of this story. This is rated T for language and mature scenes.**

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Archie slid the guitar out of his lap with a sheepish half-grin.

"Am I rusty?" he asked with a wince.

"No, of course not," Billy denied with a frown, having been fairly relaxed against his pillows while she listened to him play. "You sounded really great, like you pick up a guitar every day."

His grin loosened a bit. "Thanks. I've been trying to get back into it this summer. I've had… I've had a lot of inspiration," he told her.

Billy eyed him closely, watching the way his fingers played with the strings and how he no longer seemed capable of making eye contact. The corner of her lips pulled up.

"It's a girl, isn't it?"

Archie looked up at her with a surprised smile. "What?"

"Oh don't 'what' me," Billy raised an eyebrow, pulling her legs up into a pretzel on top of his bed. "I saw the way you got all bashful."

He huffed a laugh through his nose, the pads of his fingers running along the neck of the guitar.

"It just helps when you know you've got someone who believes in you," he said, watching the trail his hand made along the wood. "Who sees you for who you are and not somebody they just want you to be."

"Deep," Billy noted, partially taken aback, before her brows wrinkled and she leaned forward to get a better look at him. "Are you okay?" she asked with a hint of concern. "Is this about your Dad?"

Archie gave a passive shrug and mounted the guitar back on its pedestal. "I don't know. Maybe it's just teenage angst."

"Well," Billy inclined her head. "These are the years we're supposed to 'discover ourselves'," she remarked with air quotes. Archie gave her an amused look at this. "I'd say don't worry too much about whatever's bothering you but that'd just make you worry about it more. So, keep worrying about it. Maybe you'll have an anxiety attack later. Fingers crossed."

"Ah, reverse psychology," he said with a wistful sigh.

"Girls like that whole melancholy, I'm-a-walking-travesty-who-doesn't-fit-in-anywhere thing. If you keep that up you'll be selling out in no time," she informed him with an encouraging grin.

"Your support means a lot," he retorted dryly.

"I'm here for you, buddy."

Archie hummed and settled back against the pillows next to her. He twiddled his thumbs in his lap for a few seconds before tilting his head back.

"Have you heard from your Mom yet?" he asked, turning to where his cheek was lying against the pillow as he watched her. Billy shook her head with pursed lips.

"No," she said. "Which shouldn't bother me as much as it is because she never talked much when I was there anyway. I don't know, I guess I just…" she picked at the loose string in her jeans. "I guess I just miss her voice. It hasn't even been 48 hours yet. Is that pathetic?" she bit her lip. "The nurse called me this morning to give me a quick update and I feel like that's going to be the routine now, like all of our conversations are just going to be the generic, 'Your Mom still isn't eating but we're going to do our best. Sorry, gotta go, patient X is hogging the toilet paper!'" she imitated in a high falsetto.

Archie made a face. "Does that happen a lot?"

"No, just the one time. They're all good people, they're just kind of… broken," Billy said for lack of a better word. "Kind of like my Mom."

Archie's lips pulled down and he nudged her with his shoulder. "She'll get better. You'll see."

"Fingers crossed," Billy replied with a light smile. Archie smiled back before letting out a long breath.

"I should probably start heading downstairs before Dad throws a fit. We need to be at the site in half an hour."

Billy watched as he jumped off the bed, stretching his arms high above his head before pulling a random over-shirt out of his top drawer and sniffing it. Billy wrinkled her nose at the typical boy move.

"There's this thing called a laundry hamper," she snipped, not unkindly. Archie threw the shirt at her in response and she yelped.

The two of them eventually clamored down the stairs with five minutes to spare, almost running directly into Fred who was murmuring to himself while patting his front pockets near the door. Archie slipped around him to put on his shoes and Billy stood out of the man's way with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I swear if it rains again today," Fred muttered, mostly to himself. "Where are my damn keys?"

Billy gestured. "They're hanging from your belt loop."

Fred glanced down. "Oh."

He pulled them free and Archie soon joined him by the door. Billy saw them out, shaking her head at the way Archie complained all the way to the truck with Fred dutifully ignoring him. They waved as they pulled out and Billy waved back, already beginning to feel like she'd worked herself into a niche she wouldn't be able to pull herself out of for another next three weeks.

She tried spending her day a little differently than she did the day before. She took Vegas for a walk after showering, aimlessly wandering down the neighborhood until she ran into a grass park. She found a stick and decided to play fetch with him for a while; Vegas almost couldn't contain his excitement, his tail nearly trimming the grass it was wagging so fast. Once she'd worked up a sweat she took him back to the house where she let him rest in his kennel while she made a run to the store, taking Fred up on his previous offer of shopping for snacks.

She bought the usual items like poptarts, Cheetos, frozen dinner meals and a few breakfast bars for the days she successfully talked Fred out of cooking a breakfast worthy of a small nation. She would've tried hunting down some healthy foods, maybe buy some seasoning, but she wasn't going to pretend like she knew the first thing about cooking. She also stocked up on some feminine products that she would promptly hide under her bed the second she got home and then she topped off the trip with some packets of koolaid. She wanted to make a few pitchers to keep in the fridge for when the boys got home since all they seemed to have in the house was soda and stale coffee.

That would have been the end of it but on the way home she passed by a small bookstore and she couldn't stop herself from taking a peek inside after stuffing her bag of groceries inside her messenger bag. The shop was quaint and full of books that would've been new releases two or three seasons ago. She liked it though and ended up leaving with two books she had every intentions of finishing before the school year started.

After getting home, she unpacked her groceries and let Vegas out before plugging in her laptop to catch up on emails. Most of them consisted of mailing lists she was subscribed to for no reason (and was too lazy to unsubscribe to) and junk mail. She bummed it out on the couch watching a few Youtube videos before settling on Netflix until she started getting restless again. With lack of anything better to do, she closed her laptop and pushed it away, settling for slouching against the cushion and staring straight ahead with a bored look on her face.

"Is this what it's going to be like?" she murmured, her voice echoing eerily into the room. "I should just ask for a job at Fred's work, at least make a little money or something."

She grinded her jaw, glancing idly about the room before a thought struck her.

She was going to tidy up the house.

She began in the living room, dusting the shelves of the entertainment center and organizing the magazines before working her way into the kitchen. She gave the pantry an unimpressed look upon first inspection and created a brand new organizational structure with breakfast foods on the top shelf, canned goods and pasta on the second shelf, and less wholesome foods on the bottom shelf (along with Vegas's food – he gave her a look at this that was almost too deadpan for a dog to be capable of). She managed to find a Swiffer tucked away in the back of their hall closet and she cleaned the floors until she could see her reflection.

Once she was finished she stood back in the foyer with her hands on her hips, her shoulders sore in strange places, as she smiled.

"They're going to kill me," she remarked, still smiling.

The house did look a lot better, though.

After putting her cleaning supplies away, she leaned against the wall in the hallway. _Now what?_

Her eyes involuntarily landed on the unopened bag of books from the bookstore she laid on the dresser. She tilted her head and stared at them contemplatively until she straightened her spine.

A milkshake sounded good.

"If I get lost then be sure to tell them I went looking for Pop's," Billy told Vegas as he watched her from inside his kennel, only mildly perturbed from being locked up again. "Oh, don't give me that look. I'll take you for another walk tomorrow."

With a soft pat on the kennel door, Billy grabbed her book and her headphones before making her way out the door. Her shoes scuffed against the pavement as she made her way back into town, adamant about finding that little diner Archie seemed so hyped about.

Once she reached the main intersection, she branched off in the opposite direction of the day before. There seemed to be more people crowding the sidewalks on this part of town and Billy took that as a positive sign, allowing her phone to continue playing on shuffle as she marched onward. It eventually got the point where most of the crowd seemed to be venturing in one direction and she took the opportunity with a grain of salt, following along with them as they all chatted with high-pitched laughter and animated hand gestures.

And sure enough, about ten minutes later she arrived at a dimly lit parking lot filled to the brim with cars. A small building was nestled comfortably in its own division beneath the setting sun, its outside panels painted a soft mint with electric red lights outlining its windows. Billy stared up at the brightly lit sign with its giant arrow pointing down towards the appealing 'OPEN 24 HOURS' detail. Billy's insides felt warm as she gazed at the diner, a welcome sense of 'home' once again fluttering in her chest.

Billy peered in through the diner's windows beneath the red glow of its neon sign, biting the inside of her lip at how crowded it seemed to be. She clutched her book tighter against her chest and deciding to risk it, she pulled one of the doors open.

A light _ding_ pierced her ears, barely heard over the loud chatter inside, and she cautiously stepped forward. Her eyes scanned over the busy bar, brows furrowed. She angled her head to glance down one side of the diner, finding nothing but congested booths and flustered waiters. She turned the other way, shoulders falling as she began to lose hope, only to spot a vacant booth at the very end next to a hallway marked _Restrooms_.

With renowned vigor, Billy slipped around the booth closest to her and began making her way to the empty table, only to fall short about halfway there when a laughing couple returned from the bar with full glasses and sat right in the booth she was about to claim.

Billy's shoulders slumped, feeling horribly out of place as she stood alone in the middle of the diner unsure of where to go. Her teeth gnawed on her bottom lip, her foot tapping incessantly against the linoleum floor beneath her. It didn't look like the milkshake was going to be a possibility tonight, much to her dismay.

"You can sit here."

An unfamiliar voice startled her. She glanced to her right and met the eyes of a boy roughly her age sitting alone in the booth next to where she was awkwardly hovering. He had a grey beanie knitted into the form of a crown on his head with a dark jacket and reluctant eyes as if exasperated with his own suggestion. He was looking up at her expectantly and Billy pointed to herself silently, not entirely sure he was talking to her.

He tilted his head back, almost rolling his eyes before nodding impatiently. "Yes, you."

Billy could've just given him a polite 'no thank you' and took her leave because sitting with a stranger was the exact opposite of relaxing and calm but the antisocial part of her told her that'd be rude despite how opposed she felt about it so she slid in across from him before she could tell herself no.

A silver laptop separated her from the boy and she stared at the back of it, feeling incredibly out of her element. She looked around as if someone willing to help would jump out of nowhere and tell her what to do. Instead, a kid maybe a year or two older than her sauntered up to the table, having apparently witnessed the last minute and a half of her squander.

"Hey, welcome to Pop's. What can I get for ya?" he asked in a generic but civil tone.

Billy glanced at the boy out of the corner of her eye who didn't seem to acknowledge the waiter. She would've thought that was odd but seeing as how the waiter didn't acknowledge him either and the fact that he'd obviously been here before her, she just assumed he'd already been waited on. Or maybe they just knew to leave him alone.

"Um," she licked her lips. "I'll take a chocolate milkshake. Please."

"Anything to eat?" he asked.

"No, thank you."

"Coming right up," he didn't even bother to write it down before slipping behind the bar to fill her order.

Billy thumbed the cover of her book, jumping when her shoes accidentally knocked against the boy's. His head lifted a bit and she saw his sharp green eyes peer at her over his laptop, brown hair spilling out of his beanie and onto his temple. His eyebrows rose, giving her that look that said he was waiting for her to do something.

"Um," she repeated lamely, readjusting the book in her grip. "Thank you for letting me sit here."

His eyes flashed back to his screen. "No problem."

He didn't say anything more and Billy puckered her lips, feeling awkward again and realizing this wasn't much better than standing alone in the middle of the diner with nowhere to go.

She leaned back against the booth, losing more interest in her book by the second. She watched the hustle and bustle of the diner, scowling as a few booths had already been vacated since she sat down. She would've dismissed herself and moved to one before they all became occupied again but she didn't know how to do it without offending him. She tapped the spine of her book against the edge of the table until the kid from earlier returned with a tall glass of frozen chocolate topped with white fluff and a cherry.

"Thanks," she said. The kid slid her a straw and napkin-wrapped silverware.

"Can I get you anything else?"

Billy shook her head, flashing him a quick smile and he nodded before darting off to the next booth. She pulled the glass closer to herself and dipped the straw inside, taking a generous sip. As expected, it tasted delicious. She took a few more sips, eyes involuntarily trailing back to the boy as he typed away on his laptop. When she nearly gave herself a brain freeze she pushed the glass away a bit and sat up straighter. She felt obligated to say something, maybe introduce herself. That was the proper thing to do, right?

"So, um," she cleared her throat. "I'm—"

"We don't have to do the thing," the boy interrupted her, his voice a delicate mixture of high-pitched but gravely. Her forehead wrinkled and his eyes met hers again over his laptop. "The part where we exchange pleasantries," he gestured between them as if that explained enough. It took a few seconds before Billy nodded, more than a little taken aback.

"Oh," she replied slowly, at a loss for words.

The boy went back to whatever it was he was doing and Billy turned her head to look out the window, wringing her fingers together. Her shoulders were stiff and all she wanted to do was pay the waiter and leave, even if her milkshake was only half empty. Her stiffness must've physically bothered him because there was a shift across from her followed by a tired sigh.

"I'm Jughead," the boy relented after what felt like an eternity of thick silence.

She hesitated before looking over at him. He pushed his laptop aside to where she could fully see his face, though the keyboard was still facing him which clearly meant he didn't intend to stop using it. The light from his laptop screen made his skin glow and she spotted a pair of headphones wrapped loosely around his neck.

Then it finally registered to her what he said and something flickered in Billy's mind.

"Jughead," she said, tasting the name on her tongue. It sounded familiar and it's not like it was exactly forgettable. She knew she'd heard it somewhere before and only one explanation made sense. "Are you friends with Archie?" she asked.

Something on Jughead's face shifted but it was so miniscule that Billy could've imagined it.

"Never heard of him," he denied casually. Billy gave him a skeptical look.

"Really? Are you sure?" she frowned. "Archie Andrews?"

"Think I would know," he deadpanned. He gave her The Look again.

"Oh," she shook the nagging feeling away for now, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I'm Billy. With a y."

Jughead's eyebrows pulled down.

"Isn't that how it's usually spelled?" he asked with a twinge of sarcasm. Billy immediately felt defensive.

"Well yeah, _usually_. Even though it's a unisex name most girls typically spell it with an –ie so I have to clarify. More often than you'd expect, honestly, so I thought I'd just get it out of the way now," she was rambling at this point and her cheeks colored. Jughead seemed to find amusement in this.

"Okay," he said slowly, a funny almost-half-grin on his lips like he was silently mocking her. "So, Billy with a y, are you new here? I've never seen you around before and this place doesn't exactly get a lot of visitors."

"Something like that," she looked to the bar before turning her attention back to him. She blurted before she could stop herself, "What kind of a name is Jughead exactly?"

If he was offended he didn't let it show. "What kind of a name is Billy?" he shot back.

"Billy's not actually my real name," she said carefully. He shrugged casually.

"Neither's mine."

Billy watched him closely, eyes dancing over his face and the moles that accentuated his jawline.

"Are you sure you don't know Archie?" she asked again when the nagging familiarity in the back of her mind resurfaced. "I feel like he's mentioned you before."

"Nope," he replied, popping the 'p' and looking down at the table. He lifted his eyes back to hers a second later. "Why, are you a friend of his or something?"

"I'm his cousin," Billy said, finally resting her book on the table.

"Oh," Jughead said as if that wasn't the answer he was expecting.

She leaned forward. "Is something wrong?"

"Nope," he echoed, going back to his laptop with a breezy shake of his head.

Billy nodded slowly, still feeling like she was missing something. Maybe it was just the way he treated her. He seemed very hot-and-cold, not to mention incredibly dry which Billy could usually appreciate to a certain extent. Maybe she was reading too far into things. She reached a hand up to her forehead and rubbed circles into her temples to ease the clutter in her mind. Then she scooped a clump of whipped cream off her milkshake with her straw, letting it melt on her tongue because sugar made everything better.

"So," she spoke, swallowing the whipped cream before continuing. "Do you go to Riverdale High?"

"Yeah," he answered absently, tapping a few keys and returning to his original spiel of paying minimal attention to her. "I'm going to be a sophomore this year."

Billy felt marginally relieved that she could now add another person to the list of students she knew. She tried not to think about how depressing it was that the list only contained two people. Well, possibly three. She vaguely remembered meeting Archie's friend Betty ever since he mentioned it the night before. If who she was remembering was correct, the girl was a little shy but she had a genuine heart.

"Me too," Billy finally said.

"Did your family move here this summer?" Jughead asked. Billy would've been suspicious of the question but the devil-may-care look on his face suggested he was only asking to be polite (so much for not exchanging pleasantries) and that he probably wouldn't care how she answered.

"No," she said vaguely, not willing to go into detail. "I'm living with my cousin for the time being."

Jughead made a humming sound of acknowledgment. "Must be nice that you and this Archie guy are the same age."

Billy squinted at him, feeling like she caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. "I never said we were the same age."

Jughead wasn't fazed. "Well, he goes to the same school, right?" When Billy reluctantly nodded he shrugged lightly, "That's close enough. I just meant you wouldn't be alone. Some people aren't so lucky."

"You sound like you speak from experience," Billy hedged with a hint of sympathy. Being the new kid was never a walk in the park for anyone.

"Nah," Jughead waved it off, though the green in his eyes had dulled. "I've lived here my whole life."

Something about this was interesting to Billy. It could've been the sense of familiarity you get whenever you meet someone who grew up in the same town you did, like it was something special because the town was so small and not many people got to experience it the way you did.

Smiling a little, Billy said, "I grew up here. I actually lived a few houses down from my cousin. I loved it here. Everything's always seemed so… easy."

Jughead was watching her silently, fingers hovering over his keyboard. "Why'd you leave?"

Billy shrugged. "My Dad got transferred. Typical, I know, but he didn't really have a choice. It was best for us, I guess."

"And yet you're here alone," Jughead deduced with narrowed eyes. Billy tensed and looked away, staring at her melting milkshake without really seeing it.

"It's a long story," she said softly. Jughead didn't immediately respond but when he did his voice lacked its usual snark.

"Ah," she saw him nod out of the corner of her eye. "This town's got a lot of those."

"Most towns do," she countered, lifting a shoulder. Jughead raised his eyebrows and returned his focus to his laptop.

"Touché."

The conversation naturally fell short until Billy was sure they weren't going to speak anymore. It felt a little less hostile this time around so Billy felt comfortable enough opening her book to read. Occasionally she sipped on her milkshake until her straw made that awful squelching noise when it reached the bottom. The waiter was quick to retrieve the empty glass and she paid him while he was there before going back to her book. Every few minutes she'd hear the constant clicking of Jughead's fingers on his laptop, music lightly echoing from his headphones he still didn't put on all the way. In the back of her mind she wondered what he was typing about.

The two remained silent for a good twenty minutes before Billy heard Jughead's laptop snap shut. She blinked over at him as he stuffed his laptop in his bag before wrapping his headphones up. He then scooted to the end of the booth and pulled the bag over his shoulder. Billy kept her finger on the page as she watched him get up, eyes momentarily scanning the diner that had since quieted down. It looked about half as crowded as it had been when Billy entered, the lights somehow dimmer and more cozy.

"You're leaving?" Billy asked, mentally slapping herself for stating the obvious. Jughead glanced down at her and looked like he wanted to make some backhanded remark but thought better of it.

"Yeah, need to be getting home. It's late."

Billy tapped her phone and saw it only read 6:22. The sky was only just beginning to fade into a yellow-pink.

"Okay," Billy replied for lack of anything better to say. "I guess I'll see you around?"

Jughead moved past her but paused just beyond her half of the booth to look over his shoulder at her.

"Yeah," he said, the right side of his mouth curving up into the faintest of smirks. "It _is_ a small town."

He tilted his head at her in a mock-salute before he continued on to the doors, nodding to a man behind the counter on his way out. Billy watched him leave through the window, realizing as he stepped onto the sidewalk that he, like her, had walked there. She leaned back against the booth when he was out of sight, her mind replaying the last half hour. He seemed nice enough. A little rough around the edges but decent company if you were looking to just be with someone without any social expectations. Which she often was. She quirked her lips and made a 'hmm' sound.

Jughead. She wondered what his last name was.

Once she finally managed to drag herself home another half hour later (and another milkshake), she realized that Fred and Archie had beat her home. She unlocked the door before stepping inside, hearing the TV running in the living room followed by rustling in the kitchen. The delicate cling-clang of Vegas's metal tag on his collar rang down the hall and Fred came into view, glancing in her direction.

"Hey Billy, where'd you run off to?"

"I found Pop's diner," she told him, pulling off her headphones. "Their milkshakes are really good."

"The best," Fred agreed. There was a light thrumming from upstairs and Billy recognized it as music seeping down into the ceiling from Archie's room. Fred glanced up with a look on his face Billy couldn't read before he returned his attention to her. "You cleaned the house," he stated.

Billy bit the inside of her cheek. "Yeah. I didn't really know what else to do."

Fred bobbed his head, eyes dancing around the living room. "It looks nice," he said and it sounded genuine.

"Thanks," Billy grinned lightly. Fred grinned back before clearing his throat and looking away.

"I've got some chicken in the oven. You okay with finger food tonight?"

Billy nodded with a smile. "Absolutely."

XXX

Billy visited Pop's diner two more times before she saw Jughead again.

She'd admit that she looked for him the first time, not that it would've mattered because the diner wasn't very active anyway, but she did look for him. Not that he was the reason she kept coming back. She found Pop's to be sort of a refuge for herself whenever life at the house became too monotonous or whenever her mind started to wander and she began to—God forbid—think.

When she didn't see him the second time around, she just assumed she wouldn't run into him again until school started but as she jogged inside the diner with her hood pulled over her head to shelter herself from the rain a week later, she realized that all of the booths were full again except for one about halfway down the diner.

There he sat with the same grey beanie on his head and his laptop open, the glow of the screen illuminating his face.

Billy stared at him a bit longer than necessary, weighing her options. She didn't have to read her book there – she could've just as easily read it back at the house, but she really didn't want to brave the rain again. Her hoodie was soaked all the way through as the rain had started about ten minutes after she left and her messenger bag was dripping. She could sit in the waiting area and hope for a booth to open up soon, maybe read while she waited (which, come to think of it, sounded kind of counterproductive), but she would have to squeeze in next to the family of five who were already waiting, their rambunctious children kicking at one another and wiggling incessantly next to the open spot on the bench and Billy wasn't really in the mood for a headache.

With a deep breath, she stepped cautiously towards his booth. He was typing away on his laptop like last time with sharp focus, his long fingers dancing across the keyboard. He didn't have any food or even a drink next to him and all the waiters skirted right by him as if he didn't exist.

Her lips were pursed by the time she reached him, fingers drumming a random beat against her thigh. He didn't immediately look up and Billy shifted her weight from one foot to the other, glancing awkwardly over her shoulder at the crowded bar before she felt a pair of eyes on her.

Jughead had his eyebrows raised, hands hovering over the keys as he stared expectantly up at her.

"Um," she cleared her throat before gesturing vaguely. "Everywhere else is full and I remember last time you let me sit with you. It's alright if you want to be left alone but I was just wondering, if you wouldn't mind, if I—"

Jughead rolled his eyes. "Fine."

Billy's mouth was still open, lips wordlessly moving along with the rest of her unspoken question and he motioned to the spot across from him.

"Go ahead. It's fine, whatever."

"I can go if it'll bother you at all..." she shook her head, already regretting her decision but Jughead interrupted her again.

"I said it was fine," he repeated. "It's not like I'm going to lie to spare your feelings. I don't care, just sit."

Billy bit the inside of her cheek and slid into the booth, pulling her messenger bag off her shoulder to rest it beside her on the plastic cushion and tugging her hoodie off her head. Almost immediately he resumed typing and Billy watched him for a moment as if waiting for him to say or do something.

When it became obvious nothing of the sort was going to happen, she cleared her throat again and dug through her bag. She pulled free her book that was now frayed slightly at the edges and a small notebook with some empty envelopes clipped inside. There was a pen hooked into the spine of the notebook and she grabbed it before flipping to a blank page, pushing her book to the side.

She tapped her bottom lip a few times with the pen, staring at the lines on the page before she clicked the pen and began to write. She got about two sentences in when she realized she could no longer hear the constant tapping of Jughead's laptop keys and that's when the nagging feeling of being watched tickled the back of her neck. She glanced up and made eye contact with the boy who was gazing down at her notebook with vague interest, green eyes sparkling.

"Writing in your diary?" he inquired lightly when he noticed he had her attention. Billy felt awkward again but much to her relief the feeling didn't last.

"No," she said with a quick smile. "I'm writing a letter."

"A letter?" his eyebrows pulled together and Billy had a moment of vague panic, her eyes flitting from left to right anxiously.

"You… _do_ know what a letter is, right?" she realized how stupid the question sounded right after it left her lips and Jughead's deadpan look only solidified her shame in asking it.

"I don't know, isn't it what those symbols in the alphabet are called we use to spell words?" his sarcasm wasn't lost on her and she grinned a little, thankful that he didn't sound offended.

"Well, yes. But a different kind of letter. The one where you put all those words together to form sentences and those sentences form paragraphs which consist of you talking about how your life has been."

Jughead nodded with false intrigue. "So kind of like an email but, like, _handwritten_."

"Yeah," Billy nodded energetically, matching his dry tone. "Exactly like that. I knew technology was good for something."

"The good old 21st Century," Jughead agreed, the corner of his mouth lifting up. Billy went back to writing and she could feel his eyes still on her. "So who's the letter for?"

"My Mom," she answered, voice falling flat against the surface of the page. When she finished her next sentence she returned her gaze to his. "What are you typing so much on your laptop?" When his eyebrows rose again she defended herself, "I figured since you got to ask me a question I could ask you one back."

"Oh is that the social convention?" he asked wryly. Billy considered the question before shrugging.

"In a manner of speaking."

Jughead inclined an eyebrow but seemed to roll with it.

"I'm working on a project," he answered her. Billy opened her mouth to ask for clarification but he beat her to it, "Why are you writing her a letter? Why not just call her?" When he saw the look on her face he reminded her, "It's my turn to ask."

"I believe that was two questions," she pointed out.

"Then just answer the first one."

Billy almost smiled again. "She doesn't always have access to a phone but she likes to read and my handwriting's familiar to her," she gestured to his laptop with her pen. "What is it, like a summer project for school?"

Jughead snorted. "No," he replied without elaborating. "Is she the reason you moved here?"

Billy tilted her head, staring contemplatively at him. "Yes and no," she replied, equally vague. "Are you a writer or something?"

Jughead's lips quirked at the suggestion. "You could say that. How many times have you been to this diner since you got here?"

Billy was momentarily thrown by the random question but she felt her cheeks flush. Jughead was looking at her like he knew the answer before he even asked.

"This would be the fourth time," she admitted with a hint of chagrin, forgetting to ask him a question in return. He took advantage of that and asked her another one.

"And do they already know your order by heart?" he asked. It sounded like he was teasing her but she couldn't be sure, not that it really bothered her. It was better than sitting in a silence she couldn't decide she was uncomfortable with or not.

"A chocolate milkshake with extra whipped cream," she confessed, sighing. Jughead shook his head.

"It's a slippery slope," he sang in warning. "That's how they get you. I've been coming here at least once a week for the past few years. Pretty sure everyone who's ever worked here has known my name. Not that it's hard to forget but you know," he lifted his shoulders, "details."

"But you never order anything," Billy frowned.

"Strawberry milkshake," he countered without missing a beat. "I ended up asking for fries dipped in fudge one day so they'll make that for me sometimes, too. It kind of feels like you're going to clog up your arteries and have a heart attack if you eat it too much but in moderation it's to die for. Literally, if you order it like twice a week."

Billy bobbed her head a bit at the thought of it. She couldn't say she'd ever had chocolate fries before but, well, it was called a 'chock'lit shoppe' for a reason she supposed. And for some odd reason Jughead seemed like the kind of person to order something off the wall and quirkly like fudge-covered French fries, but maybe that was her conceptualizing him because of his name.

"Did you want something?" Jughead asked. Billy was almost taken aback again, afraid that she'd been staring at him for too long and he noticed, but she realized he was referring to the lack of _waiting_ any of the waiters were doing to their table. "They kind of know by now not to come by unless I wave them over since I don't always order. I can get someone to swing by if you want."

"Oh," Billy blinked at the suggestion before she waved him off. "No, I better not. I'm getting enough sweets at home as it is," she rubbed her stomach, feeling her insides clench and gurgle at the hearty pancake breakfast Fred served her and Archie yet again. She'd yet to eat one of the breakfast bars she bought herself. "Thanks, though."

Jughead, for his part, managed a somewhat sympathetic expression but it mostly just looked amused.

"Family overfeeding you?" he guessed.

"Yeah," she cringed a little. "You know how relatives are when they haven't seen you in forever. They act like you're malnourished even if you've grown three inches and gained at least ten pounds."

Jughead smirked lightly even though the look didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah, I get it. What are you gonna do without 'em though, right?"

"I suppose so," Billy agreed. She noticed his shift in mood but decided not to comment on it, feeling like it wasn't her place to know.

It didn't take long before Jughead was typing away on his laptop again and Billy nodded a little to herself, accepting the progress they made, before going back to her letter. With the soft pitter-patter of rain against their window and the idle chatter of the diner, Billy settled into a steady pace of writing. She made sure to talk about how her Uncle Fred and Archie were doing, going into great detail about how Fred's business was thriving and how Archie was helping him over the summer. Her mother would've been impressed with that. She took the time every now and then to ask her Mom questions even though she knew she wouldn't write back. It was more for her Mom's comfort than anything else and the normalcy it gave Billy, like even though she knew she wouldn't get a response, it still felt natural to ask the questions anyway. Dr. Cohen, her mother's therapist, said little things like that went a long way.

By the time she was finished her hand was sore and she had two pages, front-to-back, full of her blue ink cursive. She read the letter over and once she was satisfied, she addressed the envelope with the hospital's information she had memorized. Dr. Cohen advised her that he'd deliver any letters or postcards she sent to her mother once a week during their sessions.

Once the envelope was sealed, she pulled her book in front of her and continued where she left off.

She read through a couple chapters before the diner started getting rowdy. More teenagers were spilling in and Billy noticed the rain had ceased for the time being, leaving the parking lot glistening from the fresh rainfall and urging everyone in town to leave their house and come to Pop's. Even Jughead seemed a little irate with the noise increase, glaring at a booth somewhere behind her where a few boys were whooping and laughing much louder than necessary.

Billy chanced a glance over her shoulder, spotting the suspected booth immediately. It looked overflowed with guys roughly her age, cramming together in the corner while they rattled off order after order to the frazzled waiter who was trying to scribble on his notepad fast enough to keep up. Billy lifted her eyebrows and turned back around to see Jughead with an exasperated look on his face.

"I'm guessing those are my new classmates?" she asked, almost hoping he'd laugh her question off and say no.

"Unfortunately," he digressed.

"Great," Billy sighed. "I'll be partially deaf by the end of the semester."

"Don't worry," Jughead breathed as he closed his laptop. "They're all brawn and no brains. With any luck they won't graduate with us."

"Every cloud has a silver lining," she chuckled mildly. Jughead stuffed his laptop into his bag after unplugging it and Billy closed her book. When he stood up she made to stand as well. "I better go too while the rain's stopped."

Jughead glanced out the window and halted his movements, staring intently at something out of Billy's view. She noticed his sudden change in mood and frowned.

"Actually, I'm going to the bathroom first," he nodded behind himself at the little hallway that branched off from the diner.

"Oh," Billy nodded, forehead still wrinkled a bit at the sudden turn of events. "Okay. I can…" her voice faded as she watched him throw his bag over his shoulder and march towards the hallway with a hurried stomp in his step, not bothering to give her a response. "… wait for you if you want," she finished lamely to the open air. _Huh,_ she thought.

The door to the diner rang for the umpteenth time that evening and she turned absently to see who entered, expecting to forget what they looked like immediately after turning away like all the others. Her eyebrows shot up at the sight of Fred and Archie lingering by the door as their eyes skimmed the restaurant, talking amongst themselves. Archie spotted her first and he grinned, pointing her out to Fred before they began making their way towards her. Billy stood straight and waited for them, smiling confusedly.

"Hey," she greeted, though it sounded more like a lingering question than an actual statement.

"Hey Billy," Uncle Fred said breezily. "Thought we'd stop by after work and have dinner together here. You haven't eaten, right?"

"No," she said, still surprised. "No, I haven't. I've just been sitting here reading."

"Cool," Archie jumped into the booth beside her while she was out of the way, moving her messenger bag between them before snatching up a menu from one of the metal holders. "I'm starving."

"You okay with that?" Fred asked, sliding into the booth across from them where Jughead once was. "We weren't bothering you, right?" he grabbed a menu as well and flipped it open.

"No, not at all. I was just," she tossed a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the restrooms, about to mention that she was going to walk home with someone when she spotted a dark figure stepping out of the diner. She narrowed her eyes, instantly recognizing the bag they were carrying. Jughead stepped across the parking lot with his hands stuffed deep in his jacket pockets, head bowed forward as his shoes scraped against the wet pavement.

Before leaving completely he glanced behind him and for a second they made eye contact. He looked away before she could really react and her hand dropped in confusion.

"You were just what?" Fred asked behind his menu. "Oh Archie, they've got that double-stack burger with the sweet and sour sauce. This is going to be an evil dinner. Don't tell the guys at work I'm eating this much grease."

"Nothing," she answered after a slight pause before slipping back in next to Archie. He passed her a menu and she smiled in thanks before frowning out the window.

She wondered why he left so suddenly without saying anything. She worried maybe it was her fault, that he saw her with her family and didn't want to intrude, but considering how reclusive the boy seemed to be, she figured she was only imagining it. He probably just had somewhere he needed to be.

Besides, she'd probably see him again tomorrow anyway.

* * *

 **I am so blown away by the response this story's gotten so far. Honestly, thank you guys for taking the time to read, review, favorite and follow. It means so much to me. I'm glad you all like Billy so far and that everyone seems to be in character for the most part. I feel like this chapter isn't as long as it should be even though I wrote exactly what I wanted to happen. Oh well. Thanks so much again for all your support! I can't wait to really delve into _Riverdale_ 's plot. And to answer J-walker's question: she moved away from Riverdale five years ago and hasn't visited in two years. She's met Betty once but, obviously, not Jughead. I liked to think that her and Archie had their own separate friends despite their closeness :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the _Archie_ Comics nor any recognizable storylines from the CW's _Riverdale_. I only own my character(s) and basic plot of this story. This is rated T for language and mature scenes.**

* * *

"What are we doing here exactly?"

Billy glanced behind her at the tall brick building looming in the distance. The grass crunched beneath her feet as she shuffled across the field alongside Archie who was clad in his football gear. The air was cool but not uncomfortably so, the sun low in the sky reflecting the early morning. And by early morning she meant ten AM.

"School doesn't start for another two weeks," she said.

"Practice," he grinned at her, fiddling with his helmet as a few strands of red hair fell down into his face in stark contrast of the royal blue of his jersey.

"Isn't it enough that you're on the team?" she asked, not having a clue what he was doing as he fiddled with a strap inside his helmet. "Why do they have to make you come here before the school year even starts?"

"We have to get ready for the season, Billy," Archie gave her a softly amused look like he was both endeared and humored by her lack of knowledge on anything extracurricular. "Which means practice every day until the first bell rings."

"Couldn't that be considered illegal?" she elicited a raised eyebrow from Archie at this. She fought to defend herself with a flick of her wrist, "You know, child labor laws?"

She was only being partially serious, but the partially serious part of her wanted to know because come noon the sun would be blistering down on them at eighty degrees plus humidity and she didn't see anything just about that.

They reached a silver bench and Archie propped his foot up on it to re-tie his shoes.

"First of all," he clued her in. "We do this because we want to, not because we have to," he said, words still laced with laughter. "Second of all, we only work about two or three hours a day and it's only Monday through Friday. And third, we aren't actually getting paid to do it. If we were, a lot more people would be here right now."

Billy gazed around them, spotting a few in uniform and a few noticeably older in casual clothes – must've been parents. She made a noise in the back of her throat and crossed her arms over her chest while Archie readjusted his shoulder pads.

"So you do this voluntarily. Come to school when it's still summer vacation," she sneered with no heat and lifted her nose in mock disgust. "Athletes."

"At least I'm in shape," he grinned before reaching his pointer finger across and poking her in the stomach. "You're getting a bit soft there, Whitaker."

Billy squawked and slapped his hand away in indignation.

"Never reference a lady's weight," she glared, jabbing an accusing finger in his direction. Then she rubbed her stomach where she could still feel the dull throb of his bony finger. "And I'm sensitive about this issue."

"Someone been having too much Pop's?" he arched an eyebrow at her, smirking out of the corner of his mouth.

"I'm not talking to you anymore."

Archie laughed and opened his mouth to say more but someone approached him from the other side, their shadow falling over his figure. It was a tall man with dark skin clad in a blue sports jacket with a clipboard clutched loosely at his side. A whistle was dangling from his neck and he had his eyes trained on Archie's hunched form like a predator sizing up its prey.

"You ready, Andrews?" the man asked with a deep voice that conveyed authority.

Archie started at the addition to their company but straightened his posture nonetheless with a confident nod. The man gave Billy a look that managed to appear both confused and expectant and Archie placed his hand on her shoulder. Whether it was to steady her from the power of the man's stare or just as a familial gesture, she couldn't tell.

"Coach, this is my cousin, Billy. Billy, this is Coach Clayton," he motioned between them. "She's going to be coming to school here this year," he patted Billy's shoulder once before dropping the hand and Billy flashed the man a quick smile. Coach Clayton didn't return it but he nodded at her in acknowledgment and she figured that's all she was going to get. She wasn't who he was interested in at the moment.

"We're getting started. Get your helmet on," the coach said before making his way over to the group of boys collecting near the center of the practice field. There were dummies and other equipment situated on the field that Billy had seen in football movies but never in person.

"He's kind of… intense," Billy noted after a few seconds. Archie nodded, though the motion was mostly lost within the hunk of heavy plastic wrapped around his skull.

He spoke through the white gate in his helmet, "Yeah, you get used to it after a while though," he moved the helmet around until it fit comfortably and then held his arms open wide. "How do I look?"

"Like the Michelin Man," Billy insulted but with a smile.

A whistle blew and Archie was only able to roll his eyes at her before giving her a 'duty calls' head tilt and jogging onto the field. She watched him go, feeling something akin to pride swelling in her gut at how far Archie had come since she last saw him.

She skirted along the edge of the field, keeping an eye on him as he listened attentively to whatever Coach Clayton was shouting at them. She finally found a fluffy patch of grass near a line of trees and plopped herself down, sitting Indian style as she watched the boys scatter at the direction of their coach.

They lined up in front of an obstacle course – at least, that's what it looked like to Billy – of netting on the ground. When Coach Clayton blew his whistle, the two boys in front began to run alongside one another, lifting their legs high as they jogged through the netting, working the muscles in their thighs. Coach Clayton stood by at the sidelines, watching each boy with a keen eye and gauging for any weaknesses or areas in need of improvement. Once each boy finished the course, they ran back to the end of the line where they'd eventually start the process over.

The endurance it had to take left Billy feeling mildly impressed, knowing that if she were to try it out she'd be grunting like an old man and panting like a sumo wrestler in a sauna halfway through. And yet they were going through the course multiple times with no signs of stopping, no signs of wear or exhaustion.

 _Crazy,_ she thought. But still impressive.

After a few more minutes she grew bored of the exercise and pulled a book free from the messenger bag she brought with her. It was dog-eared three-quarters of the way through and she opened to the page she was on, reading the words printed there without really hearing them echo inside her head.

The past week or so had gone by relatively fast and she managed to get through it without breaking repetition. Archie and Uncle Fred would go to work in the morning and she'd spend most of her day either at the house being lazy or at Pop's diner slowly increasing her chances of heart disease and high cholesterol.

She'd seen the boy, Jughead, a few more times since visiting the diner but each time she was either with Archie and Fred or sitting at a table by herself. Every so often she found herself gazing across the restaurant at him, noticing that as usual he never had a drink or plate of food in front of him. The only constants were his crown-shaped beanie and laptop. And clothes that varied between black or dark grey. She found it kind of funny in a way. He reminded her of the people who would sit in Starbucks for hours at a time utilizing the free wifi as they surfed the net on their fancy Macbooks. His computer was nothing extravagant, decked out in several stickers. Not so many that it was overwhelming but enough to give it personality. She still wondered what kind of 'project' he was working on and why it was so important that it had to consume his every visit to the small chock'lit shoppe.

After realizing she'd been reading the same sentence over and over again for the past five minutes, she blinked and pulled her head out of the clouds in order to finish the chapter

She read for the better part of Archie's practice, a few shouts or bodily thumps breaking her concentration. The boys transitioned from obstacle courses to running laps and eventually running laps transformed into stretches. It wasn't until Billy's phone rang that she was pulled out of her reverie, her mind feeling like jell-o as she was sucked out of her trance.

Dog-earing the book, she sat the paperback in the grass and shuffled through her messenger bag for her phone. She finally pulled it free and a number she didn't recognize was glaring at her from the bright screen. It had a Hartford area code and assuming it was the hospital, she answered it with an easy, "Hello?"

" _Hi, baby._ "

Billy froze. She recognized the voice but at the same time she didn't. It was coated with nothing but love and affection, words accentuated clearly and without tremors or prolonged pauses. It was a familiar low rasp that set Billy's insides aflame and filled her mind with memories of a happier time. She hadn't heard it in _so_ long.

"… Mom?" she asked, voice breaking.

" _Bea,_ " her Mom cooed. And it was undoubtedly Talia Whitaker's voice. She was now the only living person who called her Bea. " _My sweet Bea. How are you, love? How's Riverdale?_ "

Aside from the breathy way she spoke it was like Billy had been transported three months into the past and for a moment she couldn't speak, didn't have the ability to for the lump of emotion that had clogged her throat.

"Um," she tried clearing her voice, her eyes stinging. "I'm good, Mom. I'm good. Riverdale's… it's good. How… how are you?" she asked carefully. A small part of her wanted to believe this was a dream. It'd been months since her Mom sounded this coherent; since she'd been able to put together a well-developed sentence or a sense of awareness. The other part of her, the bigger part, didn't care if she was dreaming.

" _I'm good, honey. Mommy's good,_ " she said with a smile in her tone. And it wasn't unlike Talia to refer to herself as 'mommy'. She was a mother through and through and she wasn't ashamed to refer to herself as such, especially since Billy hadn't called her 'mommy' in a good seven or eight years. Talia said once that the fact kind of saddened her. Now, though, the reference to 'mommy' sounded even more childish than usual which sent up some red flags in Billy's head but for the moment she didn't have the ability to focus on it. " _How's Freddie?_ "

Billy gave a watery smile at the use of Talia's nickname for her little brother.

"Uncle Fred's good," she said, eager to fill her Mom in on everything that had happened so far during her stay now that she had the capability of really listening to it and absorbing it. "Archie's good, too. He's on the football team, can you believe it? I'm at one of his practices right now and he's really good. They're all good. He looks so determined, like he really loves it. And he's working too, with Uncle Fred at the site. It's his summer job."

" _Archie,_ " Talia said, tasting the name on her tongue. " _How old is Archie now?_ "

"Sixteen like me," Billy said, frowning a bit. Her and Archie had always been close in age and it wasn't hard to forget. "He doesn't have his license yet though so I had to drive him. Uncle Fred's working without him today and Archie's not letting him forget it," she chuckled lightly.

" _He must be real grown up,_ " Talia said, a fondness in her words she had reserved only for family.

"He is," Billy nodded to herself before shaking her head. "He really is. Mom, you sound _so_ good, I don't—you're doing so well, I don't really know what to say," she breathed.

" _These doctors are treating me real well,_ " Billy could almost feel Talia nodding through the receiver. " _But none of 'em hold a candle to you, Bea. I miss you, baby._ "

Billy sniffed, gripping the phone tight against her ear as if by doing so she could force her way through it and appear beside her Mom.

"I miss you, too. I really do," she wiped the back of her hand across her nose. "But this is why we're doing this, right? We're doing this to make you better and you sound so much better already, Mom. I'm so proud of you."

" _I wish you were here, Bea,_ " Talia said wistfully. " _I'm doing good?_ "

"So good," Billy praised, knowing it's what her mother needed to hear. And she couldn't deny the hopeful way her mother had asked. "How's the weather up there? Is it sunny?"

" _Bright and blue,_ " Talia replied and she could picture her sitting by the window where she last saw her, gazing up at the cloudless sky.

"Here too," Billy said, pulling at a few blades of grass. She felt elated and she couldn't keep the smile off her face. That's what her mother did to her. "You should see if you can take a walk outside, get some fresh air. You don't wanna miss it," she told her, eyes lifting up and feeling a sense of comfort in knowing she and her Mom were looking at the same sky in that moment. It made her feel closer, like she could reach into the pool of blue and grab her mother's hand. She felt the need to add more so she continued, "I bet they'll let you if you just ask. Nurse Wanda probably needs a break from being cooped up inside all the time."

" _Oh I'll do that, Bea, I'll do that,_ " Talia said, sounding far away all of a sudden. Billy felt a pang in her chest, hoping that she wasn't losing her Mom already. " _Just wish you could walk it with me._ "

"I'm outside right now," Billy tried reassuring her, inhaling the fresh scent of pine and mown grass. "Just pretend I'm there with you. You could call me back on Wanda's cell phone," she suggested, trying to keep her eagerness at bay. She heard a peel of laughter and it was like music to her ears.

" _You're silly, Bea._ "

"Yeah, well, I learned it from you," she grinned crookedly.

They continued talking a few minutes longer about nothing in particular. Talia seemed content with listening to Billy but Billy focused more on asking questions just so she could hear the woman's voice. Her speech remained clear and strong throughout the conversation and Billy felt weightless like she was on a cloud. When it naturally came to an end rather than being stopped abruptly by a nurse or Talia's inability to continue further, Billy felt sated and at ease.

"I love you, Mom," she said earnestly, feeling something squeeze at her insides.

" _I love you too, baby,_ " Talia said and Billy felt the love dripping from her words.

"Speak soon, yeah?" Billy bit her lip, praying that this wasn't just a one-time thing that would never happen again. The world couldn't give her Mom back and then take her away again. It would've been too cruel.

" _Yeah,_ " Talia agreed softly. " _Miss you._ "

"Miss you every day," Billy replied.

When the call ended Billy stared down at her phone with an unreadable look, though a ghost of a smile still coated her lips. She heard another whistle and glanced up at the field, spotting Archie almost immediately with his flaming red hair as he pulled his helmet off. His skin was glistening, something Billy could tell even from her distance, and just as they were about to make eye contact her phone starting ringing again. This time when she looked at the caller ID she saw Nurse Wanda's name flashing across the screen and her smile nearly split her face in two.

"Hello?" she answered, eager to hear her Mom's voice again.

" _Billy?_ " Nurse Wanda asked, as if she wasn't sure she got the right number. Billy's face fell but she tried masking the disappointment in her tone.

"Hi Wanda," she greeted.

" _Hey, honey. Did you just get a call from your mother?_ "

"I did," Billy answered with pride. "She sounds so much better. I can't believe we're getting changes already," Billy gushed, the words spilling from her mouth before she could stop them. She was oblivious to the tense silence on the other line as she continued, "At this rate I may not even need to stay here a year. If she keeps progressing like this I might be able to come back in six months. We could try getting our own house or maybe an apartment to start off with."

"— _Billy, Billy,_ " Nurse Wanda started to say halfway through. Billy's rambling finally stopped and Nurse Wanda sighed on the other line. " _Billy, hold on a second. You're one step ahead of us here. I called to give you an update on your mother's medication._ "

Billy didn't quite understand the haste and she frowned. "Okay."

" _We put her on something different today, something a little stronger. To save you and me the headache of trying to pronounce it, let's just say it's an anti-depressant. It helps lift the mood and clears away a bit of the fog, if you will,_ " there was a pause and even the silence sounded apologetic. " _She's reacting to it quite well._ "

Billy's brows were pulled down low and the realization was beginning to sink in her stomach like molten lead.

"Happy pills," she said, lacking eloquence. "You gave her happy pills."

" _To be fair we've been giving them to her all along,_ " said Nurse Wanda. " _The doctor just prescribed her a different brand with a different dose and it's working._ "

Billy kind of felt like she wanted to throw up.

"So that wasn't her talking," she stated rather than asked. "That was the medicine doing it for her."

Nurse Wanda was hesitant to answer. " _In a way. It altered her mood, sure, but like I said it helped clear away the fog. She was able to make more sense of what was going on inside her head and the first thing she wanted to do was talk to you. That's got to count for something._ "

Billy felt tears burning her eyes but this time it was for a completely different reason. She cupped a hand over her mouth to stifle the sobs and it kind of felt like her heart was breaking. She didn't know why she was reacting this way. She should've realized, should've known. Her mother couldn't have been cured in just a couple of weeks, it was completely unrealistic. It would've taken a miracle. But she sounded so _normal_. She sounded like she did when her Dad was still alive and it thrust Billy into this parallel universe where nothing bad had happened to their family. It made Billy forget about her condition, about where she was, about how wrong it was for her mood to pull a complete 180 in less than a month. It completely blindsided her.

She should've known.

Billy pushed herself off the grass and walked towards the tree line to hide her tear-stained cheeks.

" _Billy?_ " Nurse Wanda's voice crackled through the receiver. " _Are you alright, honey? I'm sorry Billy, I didn't mean to upset you. I thought this would be good news._ "

Billy's chest shuddered and convulsed silently and she tried willing the tears away as best she could, tried to make her voice sound stable.

"No," she strained her words. "No, it's good news. It is. I'm glad," she wiped her eyes, only to have more tears spill out and her lip trembled. "Um. So what does this mean?" she asked, clearing her throat. "How long is she going to be on this medication for?"

" _Hard to say,_ " Nurse Wanda exhaled. " _We'll keep an eye on her the next couple of weeks and see how she fares. Some only need to take it a few months, others need to take it a lifetime. It all depends on the person. We have high hopes, though. If anything it'll redevelop her appetite. I'll feel a lot better when she's got some meat on her bones._ "

Billy tried imagining her Mom spending the rest of her life relying on medication to make her happy, to make her lucid, and she couldn't stomach it. Billy rubbed her temples, feeling a dull throb pulsating behind her eyes.

"You really think it's going to help?" Billy asked for lack of anything better to say.

" _I think it's our best option,_ " Nurse Wanda told her honestly. " _Dr. Cohen will still have his weekly sessions with her. If this medicine keeps her cooperative, he may be able to make some real progress. That's what we're hoping for. She needs to talk to us, Billy,_ " Nurse Wanda lamented softly. " _We can pump her full of all the medication in the world but it's only going fix her on the outside. We need to go deeper, get to the root of what's caused all of this._ "

"I know what caused it," Billy said stiffly.

" _It started it, yes,_ " Nurse Wanda agreed, unaffected by her temper. " _But there must've been something else going on, something below the surface she may not have even known about._ "

Billy was starting to feel like she was getting shrinked and she needed to steer the conversation away from that because she wasn't in the mood to listen to psychiatry.

"Is she always going to sound like that?" Billy asked, voice small. "Is she always going to sound… normal?"

She hated herself for asking the question. She felt guilty for making it sound like her mother wasn't normal on any other day, even if it were true.

" _I'm not sure. There's no way to predict how her body will handle the medicine. It's possible for her to build an immunity to it – to become desensitized to its effects. But only time will tell. We just started her on the medication last night so today she's… today she's in a pretty good mood,_ " Nurse Wanda paused, giving Billy the chance to pull the phone away from her mouth so she could sniff wetly. When she brought it back, nose feeling raw, Nurse Wanda was speaking again, " _I'm sorry, Billy. I feel like I've made a mistake. Maybe I should've eased you into this. It must've been so overwhelming to hear her like that. I wasn't thinking._ "

"No," Billy shook her head. "No, it's okay. I'm glad you told me. It was… it was nice hearing her like that. It's been so long…"

" _I know,_ " Nurse Wanda murmured. " _We can only hope it goes up from here._ "

They exchanged small talk, Nurse Wanda trying to quickly catch up with Billy's life in Riverdale. Billy only gave halfhearted replies, waiting for the opportune moment to cut the phone call short. Luckily Nurse Wanda's hectic schedule came to her rescue and she had to wrap everything up rather quickly, apologizing one last time before the line went dead. Billy slid the phone into her pocket before covering her face with her hands, shedding the rest of her tears.

This was where Archie found her a few minutes later, shoulders shaking as she cried. At this point she wasn't sure why she was crying anymore. It just felt like the right thing to do, like she needed to let some of this emotion out before it all spilled over. A warm around wrapped around her shoulder and she jolted a bit in its grasp, only relaxing when she saw Archie's blurry form through her watery eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked, eyes wide and frantic.

Billy sniffed again and wiped her eyes, shaking her head. She couldn't talk even if she tried.

"Is it your Mom?" he asked. When she nodded he elaborated, "Is she okay?"

She nodded again and Archie seemed at a loss for words, glancing over his shoulder as he held her close to him. He was sweating and Billy would've made a comment about him standing too close but at the moment she couldn't bear to feel that warmth leave her side. She heard a few comments shouted in their direction from behind and though Archie shook his head he failed to give a verbal response, instead focusing on her red cheeks and glossy bloodshot eyes. His brows were furrowed in concern and though it was obvious he didn't have a clue how to handle her he was hesitant to move away and she could appreciate that.

"Okay, well, practice is over so let's head home, okay?" he leaned in close to try and get a better look at her face and she met his gaze shamefully, feeling stupid for crying all over him in front of his teammates. She hadn't even started school yet and already she'd made a complete idiot out of herself. "You want me to drive?"

She shook her head no because he didn't have a license, he wasn't supposed to drive, but either her silent protest was weak or Archie wasn't having it because he nodded to himself.

"Yeah, I'll drive. Let me just grab our stuff. Just hang tight."

Billy kept her back turned, making blubbering noises as her lungs continued to stutter out quiet sobs she couldn't control, and when Archie's arm reappeared over her shoulders she let him steer her away without looking up from her shoes.

She didn't make eye contact with anyone they passed and if someone made a snide remark she was too busy feeling humiliated to hear it. Archie didn't say anything, letting her cry it out the rest of the walk to the truck where he tossed their stuff in the bed of it before helping her into the passenger seat. She wanted to protest, say she wasn't an invalid and that she was perfectly capable of doing normal human things, but her brain apparently didn't agree with that as she let herself be helped into the truck without a word.

The drive home was quiet, Billy staring out the window with her fingers curled together tightly in her lap. She felt Archie's gaze on the side of her head every couple of seconds but he didn't try to push an explanation out of her. When they pulled into the front of the house he grabbed their stuff, thankfully letting her climb down out of the truck without assistance.

Uncle Fred wouldn't be home for another couple of hours and the house was silent as they entered it, Vegas perking up in his kennel from the living room at their arrival. Billy crossed her arms over her chest, trying to fold into herself and make herself disappear as Archie gave her another one of his concerned-but-also-lost brow wrinkles.

"I'm gonna jump in the shower real quick, okay?" he spoke softly as if afraid to spook her. Billy was stewing silently in self-hatred but she nodded anyway and he took the stairs two at a time, stomping across the wood floors like an elephant parading down the hall at top speed.

He returned downstairs ten minutes later dressed in sweats and t-shirt, skin pink and freshly clean with his hair dripping and appearing a muted red-brown. He found her curled up on the couch with Vegas resting at her feet and he carefully took a seat next to her, face open and ready to listen.

For a good two minutes Billy refused to meet his eyes, picking at a torn seam on the hem of the couch arm with one hand while her other stroked Vegas's head that rested on her knee. His little brown eyes glistened up at her in concern, mirroring the look Archie had given her at practice. And probably the look he was still giving her now.

"It's stupid," she rasped, voice scratchy and wet. She cleared her throat before shaking her head. "It's really stupid."

"What happened?" Archie asked.

"My Mom called me," Billy started to explain, staring at a stain on the rug underneath the coffee table. "Which is something she usually doesn't do. And she sounded fine. Normal, even. Like everything was okay. She spoke in complete sentences of all things and I got so excited because she hasn't spoken more than maybe thirty words to me since Dad died. And yet, she was really talking to me. Making actual conversation," Billy's throat trembled and more tears threatened to fall but this time she was able to keep them at bay. "We talked for like ten minutes and it felt like the best ten minutes of my life. And then Wanda, her nurse, called and said they just gave her a new medicine. She said it was an anti-depressant, that it was supposed to help lift her mood and make her more lucid. It wasn't even her talking."

Billy shook her head again before Archie had the chance to get a word in.

"I know, it's stupid. I shouldn't be acting like this, like it's some horrible thing, but I can't help it. I _can't_ help it," she stressed, finally turning her head to look at him. Archie's lips were in a thin line, his brown eyes alert and attentive. "She used to always be happy. It was never even an emotion she had to think about. She just was. And now she needs to take medicine to make her feel happy?" Billy's eyes were wide as she gave Archie a helpless look. "That's not her."

Archie's face softened and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he glanced up at her under his wet fringe.

"There's nothing wrong with needing a little help," he said gently. "Some people can't do it on their own."

"I know," Billy whispered, feeling ashamed again. "I _know_. It's not that, it's just—it's just not her, you know? I hate that she needs help to feel happy. It's not fair."

"No," Archie agreed. "It's not."

"I don't like that she needs help. I know it sounds bad, I know how I sound, but it makes me scared. I'm scared that she'll never be able to be happy without it. And what if it isn't really happiness?" she asked, not sure if she was even making sense. "What if it's just artificial happiness shooting through her brain, making her think she's happy but she never truly is anymore?"

Archie licked his lips before shaking his head slowly.

"You can't think like that. Just take it one day at a time, yeah?" he told her. "Just one day at a time. If you're too busy focusing on the bad or worrying about what might happen then you're going to miss all the good, like the fact that your Mom actually talked to you today. It was a _big_ step. You were excited about it."

"I was," Billy whispered.

"So _stay_ excited," Archie said with a half-smile. "Think about how this medicine might actually make her better; make her healthier. You know?"

"Yeah. I know," Billy's teeth dug into her lower lip. "I told you it was stupid."

"It's not stupid," Archie admonished, heat flaring his tone. "It's not. Don't think for one second that it is. I swear, Billy, you've got a heart of gold. It's okay to be worried about your Mom," he told her gently. "She's your Mom."

Billy's eyes began to sting again. "Yeah, she is. I love her," her lip wobbled. "I love her and I miss her so much."

By the end her voice was shrill and unsteady and Archie's face contorted like he was in pain.

"C'mere."

He opened his arms and Billy fell into them with a sob, her cries muffled into his neck as he wrapped his arms tightly around her trembling frame and held her close. The scent of cotton and mint filled her senses and she inhaled greedily, trying to chase her dark thoughts away with something lighter, cleaner, safer. Archie shushed her, rubbing his hand up and down her arm as she soaked the collar of his shirt with her tears.

"I'm—so—scared," Billy cried and Archie's grip tightened. Vegas hopped up onto the cushion, plopping down in the space she freed up by curling up against Archie. The dog whined, sensing her distress, and sat close as the sobs wracked her body and tensed up her muscles and joints.

"I know," Archie mumbled into her hairline.

"I want my Mom," she said just for the sake of saying it. It didn't make it any less true. "I want my Dad."

"I know," Archie said again, sounding strained.

He must've been having a hard time trying to figure out what to say but Billy was content to just have him near. It kind of felt like he was holding her together and she was afraid that if he let go she'd break into millions of tiny pieces. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to be put back together.

She murmured a few incoherent things into his shirt and she rode her cries out until they eventually subsided into congested sniffles and nasally coughs. Archie was patient, still rubbing warmth into her arm and breathing into her hair, and she listened to his steady heartbeat until hers slowly began to match its calm rhythm. By the time her tears were gone she felt exhausted and dehydrated, face dry and itchy from the wetness. Archie kept a hold of her until she forcefully peeled herself away, immediately missing the body heat. Archie's face was sympathetic as he watched her rub her eyes and run a few fingers through her disheveled hair.

"You alright?" he finally asked after she took a deep breath. She nodded.

"Tired," was her response.

"You wanna sleep for a bit?"

Billy didn't hesitant. She stood from the couch, Vegas protesting softly at the shift of the cushion. Both dog and boy peered up at her carefully, gauging her reaction and awaiting her next move.

"Will you stay with me for a bit?" she asked, feeling nothing short of a five-year-old asking to sleep with their parents after a nightmare. To her surprise Archie didn't try to protest.

"Yeah, I could go for a nap," he agreed easily, stretching and arching his back against the couch before pushing himself up with a sigh. "Growing boy and all."

Billy cracked a weak smile and Archie led her towards the stairs with a hand on her lower back, Vegas's paws padding after them.

The two of them made their way upstairs to Billy's room and she collapsed onto the bed, curling up beneath the covers as Archie shut the blinds. He climbed in beside her on the other side of the bed as Vegas hopped up at their feet and snuggled against Billy's legs. Archie and Billy faced one another, pillows pressed up against one another's. She watched him sleepily through half-lidded eyes and he kept their eyes locked, the look on his face conveying peace and companionship and, _'I'm here for you.'_

Billy's eyelids slowly fell shut and in a matter of minutes her breathing slowed to an even, deep pace, her hand resting only inches away from Archie's.

* * *

 **I know this one was more of a downer but I'm really looking to build a solid relationship between her and Archie. I really want to develop a sense of family and closeness and something of a brother/sister bond between them even if they're cousins. And I know Jughead wasn't in this one but good news: he _and_ Betty are going to be in the next one. Chapter five may be the start of the TV series where we start incorporating actual episodes but I'm not sure. I want a good build up to it but at the same time I don't want to wait too long and make you guys feel like the beginning is just dragging on.**

 **Thank you all so much for your amazing feedback so far. I honestly can't believe this story already almost has 200 followers. I'm completely blown away. I can't even begin to describe how appreciative I am that you even take the time to read this story, much less favorite and follow and take a minute of your time to review. You've made me a really happy author and it's so helpful to know how I'm doing in terms of characterization and creativeness, etc. I really hope this chapter didn't bore you. I know some people get upset when one of the main characters isn't in a chapter but I'm still working on building Billy as a character, which was also the reason for this chapter. Despite her humor and sarcasm she's still having a tough time.**

 **Just as a quick warning, I am in the process of moving hence the particularly long wait for this chapter. I hope the next one won't take as long to post but if it doesn't I just wanted you all to know there's a legitimate reason why. Thanks again for all your continued support! Until next time xoxo**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the _Archie_ Comics nor any recognizable storylines from the CW's _Riverdale_. I only own my character(s) and basic plot of this story. This is rated T for language and mature scenes.**

* * *

Billy felt determination pool in her gut when she saw the unmistakable silhouette of Jughead through one of the restaurant windows the following day.

There was a _ding_ as she pulled open the left door and she stepped up to the bar, standing next to a barstool without sitting on it. A man in his early thirties dressed in a white chef's apron greeted her with a smile. They exchanged a brief hello before she ordered.

"I'll take a chocolate milkshake please," she said. Her eyes then slid over to the table Jughead was at on the far side of the room typing away on his stickered laptop. She looked back to the gentleman in front of her. "Also a strawberry milkshake, too."

There was plenty of money on her debit card transferred from Amy West, the woman from Social Services, so she might as well spend it on something. A milkshake for a potential friend sounded good enough to her.

She waited patiently while the man went to fill her order. There didn't seem to be anyone else working the bar and she could hardly see into the back kitchen aside from a small slit in the center of the wall. There weren't many bodies back there moving around, either. It was a calm day, it seemed, both outside and in and Billy couldn't be more appreciative of it. Her mind kept straying back to the day before with her Mom and Archie. Archie didn't seem to mind helping her through it and he didn't comment on it this morning when they passed each other in the hall but it didn't make the situation any less embarrassing. She could only imagine what was going through his head as she blubbered and sobbed into his shirt like a leaky faucet.

Uncle Fred was oblivious to everything that happened when he got home. Billy figured since Archie didn't bring it up she wouldn't either. She felt kind of guilty for keeping it between them knowing Fred would want to hear any updates on his sister but Billy wasn't sure she was capable of telling him without a lump forming in her throat. Even waking up that morning the phone call left a bitter taste in her mouth and she found herself pushing it to the very back of her mind, shoving it behind a metaphoric door and nailing it shut. Maybe she was being immature about it but for now ignoring the problem seemed to be the only way to solve it.

"One chocolate shake and one strawberry shake," the man slid two glasses towards her. They were decorated with white fluff and a cherry on top and she handed him cash with a smile before grabbing them.

She headed towards Jughead's table while biting the inside of her cheek. She didn't know if they'd quite reached this point yet – bringing each other cold beverages and sitting across from one another without asking. Was this a breech in personal space? Were they well-acquainted enough for it? She didn't know but at the moment she didn't really care. She was going to be spontaneous if it killed her. Plus the desire to speak to someone she wasn't related to was becoming unbearable.

Ignoring the anxious coils in her stomach she approached Jughead's table with an easygoing (on the outside) smile. Once she reached it, she slid into the empty space across from him and pushed the frozen pink drink across the table. His relentless typing ceased and he eyed the full glass skeptically before his hazel eyes flashed up to meet hers. Billy gave him a hopeful smile and the exasperation on Jughead's face was clear but he didn't necessarily seem opposed to having her company which she considered a win.

"Are you trying to woo me?" he asked in greeting, nodding towards the shake. "Because it's working."

Billy's shoulders slumped in relief and her hopeful smile melted into one much less tense.

"As long as it's working," she replied, tugging her messenger bag off her shoulder. She waited for the eye roll she knew was coming and she wasn't disappointed.

"Seriously," said Jughead. "What's this for?"

"Well," Billy gave a light shrug. "I've never seen you eat anything here before. You claim to have an order everyone's memorized but you could've made that up. I wanted to get you something before you became emaciated," she explained, still smiling.

"And you think a strawberry milkshake will help with that," he stated rather than asked, eyebrow lifted. "What if I'm lactose intolerant?"

Billy eyed him skeptically as she pulled her nearly finished book free from her bag.

"You said it was your order," she reminded him, unimpressed.

"Maybe I ask for soy," he said without missing a beat. Billy narrowed her eyes at him, feeling a twinge of worry.

"You're not lactose intolerant," she said without confidence, "… are you?"

She felt minimally horrified and a lot chagrinned at the thought, feeling stupid for not asking first. Jughead kept up the charade a second or two longer before the slowly growing smirk on his lips gave him away. Billy rolled her eyes, her heart no longer hammering wildly inside her chest.

"That's not funny."

"It was kind of funny," Jughead countered, still smirking. He used that opportunity to wrap his lips around the straw and take a sip. He pulled back with a hum, pink liquid staining his bottom lip. "It's good."

"I'm glad," Billy said, relief flooding her stomach. She tried not to let it show, though judging by the way Jughead's smirk curved higher told her he noticed anyway.

"And another thing," Jughead said. By his tone of voice Billy would've thought he lifted an informative finger but upon looking she didn't see any visible extremities. "You assume the only time I ever eat food is when I'm here, which you've never seen me do."

Billy sighed in exasperation. "I just wanted to do something nice for you, okay?"

"I'm just saying," Jughead grinned. "I wanted to reassure you that I do have food elsewhere and I do eat it. I'm not going to starve to death."

"Thank you for clearing that up."

"You're welcome."

There was a comfortable silence between them as they drank their milkshakes in intervals with Billy reading her book and Jughead typing away on his laptop. Just as Billy was about to finish her chapter she heard loud chatter behind her as someone entered the diner.

Jughead groaned quietly and Billy peered up at him curiously, head tilted in question. Jughead nodded behind her.

"Ice Queen alert," he said.

"Ice Queen?" Billy frowned. She turned to look over her shoulder and noticed a girl with wavy strawberry locks dressed like she was about to attend dinner with a fifties mobster. Her lacy coral-and-crème-colored dress was much too formal for Pop's and unless she just climbed out of a DeLorean that housed a flux capacitor, it was completely outdated for someone her age. "Who is that?"

"That's Cheryl Blossom," he said, words carrying an air of importance despite the poison that dripped from them. Billy's eyebrows rose.

"The one whose brother died?"

"So you heard," he acknowledged without surprise, as if he knew the information was bound to reach a newbie like her eventually. He asked the next question seemingly to himself, "What's she doing slumming it on this side of town?"

"You consider _this_ 'slumming it'?" Billy asked. Pop's was probably the nicest diner she'd ever sat in.

"For her," he nodded. "She's a richie with a high horse, if you couldn't already tell by the way she's dressed like a deceased grandmother."

Billy snorted. "That's not very nice."

"No, I'm pretty sure my grandmother was buried in that exact dress. Well, maybe a few sizes bigger."

Billy bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.

"My cousin warned me about her," she told him. "He said that her and her family were trying raise money downtown even though they had plenty of it."

"Extortion is the Blossom way," Jughead said, not seeming too shocked.

Billy glanced at the girl one more time. She had white lacy gloves on her hands, one of which was clutching a soft pink Gucci handbag. _Typical,_ Billy thought. Not that she had anything against name brands, but there was a big difference between someone who dreamt of having a designer purse and someone who bought a new one every holiday. Judging by the superior way this Cheryl held herself, Billy figured she probably bought one every weekend.

"Every town has one of them," she muttered.

"You mean there are actually other people out there like Cheryl?" Jughead asked dryly. "I was under the impression she was her own species."

"I mean, there were a few girls at my old school who came from money and they flaunted it every chance they got," Billy told him. "But most of them were actually pretty likable. I don't think I ever really hated any of them and they never made me feel like they were better than me. A lot of girls I knew either wanted to be them or be their friends but I guess that's normal. Besides, they had plenty of friends anyway."

"Yeah well Cheryl doesn't have friends," Jughead said. "She has followers."

"And I thought people like her only existed in movies," Billy grinned lightly. Jughead rolled his eyes.

"You'd be surprised," he paused for a moment as the heat of Cheryl's arrival cooled down. The girl in question had meandered to the other side of the diner, standing close to the woman who entered with her. Billy assumed she was her mother. "So what city are you from?"

Billy turned back to Jughead who was resting back against the booth.

"Manchester in Connecticut, though I spent the last couple of weeks in Hartford," she answered vaguely.

"I'm guessing this has something to do with your Mom and the fact that you write to her," he guessed.

"You would be correct," Billy sighed. She finished her chocolate shake and Jughead didn't immediately say anything. Even though she didn't think Jughead would press the subject any further, she tried changing topics anyway. "So school starts in less than two weeks."

Jughead slowly nodded. Apparently her subject switch-a-roo wasn't quite as subtle as she thought it was.

"Is Cheryl someone I'm probably going to have to worry about?" Billy winced a little, only partially serious. She wasn't so much worried about Cheryl as she was half of the football team that witnessed her little breakdown the day before. Was it possible to have secondhand embarrassment over something that happened to yourself? "She seems like the Queen Bee type."

"Ice Queen Bee," Jughead corrected, grinning slightly. "She's probably the least of your concerns."

Billy eyed him suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"Well first you're going to have to figure out how to navigate the school," Jughead told her. Billy opened her mouth to retort but he beat her to it. "And your cousin won't be with you every second of every day. It's not like they're going match up your schedules perfectly so you can just follow him around."

"Why not?" Billy pouted. She hadn't been expecting them to but it still upset her to hear it anyway.

"Because you're not five," Jughead chuckled and—what was that? Did he actually just _laugh?_ Sarcastic, dry-as-a-drywall, all-black-wearing Jughead? Billy couldn't believe it! She was so stunned that she almost hadn't heard the next thing he said, "If I were you I'd try to get a lay of the land before the first day. That building's like a maze and nothing's where you'd expect it to be. If I didn't know any better I'd say the architect was related to Sarah Winchester."

Billy opened her mouth and then backtracked, squinting across the table at him. "Who?"

Jughead just shook his head. "Nevermind."

Billy blinked but let it go, figuring if she remembered she'd google the name Sarah Winchester later. But she knew she wouldn't.

"I'll keep that in mind," she said, referring to the first half of Jughead's comment. She smoothed down the pages of her book, almost forgetting that she had it in front of her. She tried deciding if she wanted to continue reading or make more conversation—because she was finally getting somewhere!—but then a shadow passed over their table.

Billy made to look and see who it was but Jughead hurriedly whispered, " _Don't make eye contact,_ " and Billy forced her gaze to the table instead. She had no idea who she was trying not to make eye contact with so she looked up at Jughead instead and watched his face until his shoulders lost their tension.

Billy figured it was safe for her to glance out of her peripherals and she noticed Cheryl and her mother taking a seat at the bar only a few feet away from them. Billy released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and she scowled over at Jughead.

"Are you serious? You made it sound like a gang member just walked in!"

"Trust me, you'll thank me later," Jughead said. He began to close his laptop. "You can stick around if you want but I'm putting some distance between me and the Redheaded Wonder."

Billy eyed the girl in question. If she heard Jughead's comment she didn't show it. Billy dog-eared her book before stuffing it in her messenger bag, nodding.

"I'll come with you."

They stood at the same time and Jughead let Billy pass in front of him. She led the way to the front of the diner and the two of them waved at the man in the apron, who waved back with a smile, before leaving through the doors. The air was cool as the sun began its descent, crickets chirping as the world welcomed dusk. The parking lot was more congested than it had been when Billy entered. The nightlife really thrived at Pop's, she noticed. At least in the summer.

Instead of immediately parting ways like Billy thought they would, Jughead turned right with her as she began walking down the sidewalk in the direction of her house. She raised her eyebrows at him but didn't say anything. Jughead kind of reminded her of a shy, stray kitten. It took a while for the kitten to warm up to you—it'd lived on the street most of its short life so it was wary of everything around it—but once it warmed up to you and began following you around, you couldn't acknowledge that you noticed it in fear of spooking it and causing it to run away.

"So, your cousin," Jughead spoke up eventually. Billy's forehead wrinkled at the randomness of the topic. Jughead was watching his feet as he asked, "What's he like?"

Billy pursed her lips but shrugged inwardly. It's not like he wasn't allowed to ask.

"He's really nice," she said. She didn't miss the way Jughead sniffed at this, like he was trying to cover up a laugh or scoff. She shook it off, thinking nothing of it. The guy was allowed to sniff. "He's been helping me adjust, kind of like it's his job. We used to be really good friends, you know. When I first lived here. He was one of my best friends or kind of like the brother I never had, I guess. He always knew how to make me laugh. We kind of lost that when my family and I moved but it's starting to come back," she explained with a wistful smile. "He's a musician, too."

"Really?" Jughead asked. "Is he any good?"

"He doesn't think he is," Billy chuckled. "But he is. He's got real talent."

"Must be nice," Jughead mused. "The only instrument I know how to play is the triangle."

"What about those plastic recorders every student in the world mysteriously had in the fourth grade?" Billy grinned.

"Oh no," Jughead shook his seriously. "I sucked at that. Honestly, ask my elementary school music teacher. He confiscated mine in the middle of practice for 'disrupting the class'."

"Ouch!" Billy tossed her head back in laughter. "Yeah, about the only thing I ever knew how to play on it was Mary Had a Little Lamb and even that was pitchy."

Jughead shook his head with another huff that sounded like a laugh. "I can't believe you had one of those recorder things, too."

"Right?" Billy waved her hands. "Everyone did!"

They both laughed a little as they crossed an intersection. The sky was dim and the sidewalks were becoming crowded as the nocturnal people of Riverdale awoke and began their daily (nightly?) activities. The chatter of the crowds eventually faded into the background as they headed into the neighborhood sections of Riverdale. Billy's street was only a few blocks down and she breathed in the fresh nighttime air before glancing over at Jughead. He stood about three or four inches above her and practically blended into the scenery with his dark hoodie and jeans.

"Hey," Billy said to get his attention. Jughead looked over at her, the orange glow of the streetlights casting shadows over his sharp face. "If I ever get lost at school, will you help me out? If my cousin isn't around?" she asked with a lopsided smile. "You're kind of the only other person I know who goes there."

"' _If_ ,' she says," Jughead grinned wryly. " _When_ you get lost and your cousin's nowhere to be found, and if I _magically_ happen to be in the same hallway as you, then _maybe_ I'll help you find your way."

"You said it was a small town," Billy pointed out, giving him an air-poke. "So I'm bound to run into you at some point."

"I'll think about it," was all Jughead said, though the half-grin on his face suggested he would. Billy felt proud of herself. A few more interactions like this one and maybe she could call this guy her friend.

It only took another five minutes or so before they reached her neighborhood. Billy perked up at this. Her feet were starting to ache and she had a bubble bath with her name on it once she got inside. Even from the end of the block she could see Fred and Archie's house and, upon closer inspection, it looked like there were two figures standing outside at the base of the steps. Billy narrowed her eyes, trying and failing to make out who they were, when Jughead suddenly stopped.

It took another three steps before Billy realized he wasn't at her side and she turned around in confusion. He was staring ahead as well, an unreadable look on his face, and Billy approached him carefully before realization dawned on her.

"Oh my god, we just walked all the way to my house!" she gasped. Jughead had the good sense to send her a deadpanned look despite the frigid way he held himself.

"Just now figure that one out, did you?"

"Why didn't you say something?" Billy exclaimed, waving her arms. "You don't live anywhere near here, do you? How long is it going to take you to get home?"

"Billy, relax," Jughead chuckled, holding out a hand to placate her. "I was just following you. I don't live very far, it's not a big deal."

"Are you sure?" she asked, feeling guilty. "You could come inside and get a drink of water or something first?" she tried even though she had a feeling they hadn't quite reached the I-trust-entering-your-personal-space stage yet.

"No thanks," Jughead said but there was still a tiny smile on his face. "I'll see you later."

He turned and began walking back the way they came.

"Be safe!" Billy shouted for lack of anything better to say.

Jughead waved a hand above his head before disappearing around the corner. Billy frowned, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she approached her house. She was lost in her thoughts until she nearly ran straight into Archie who was eyeing the end of the street in curiosity.

"Who was that?" Archie asked, gesturing to the place she'd been standing with Jughead. The area was void of any streetlamps so he hadn't been able to see who she was with even if he tried.

"Oh," Billy blinked, stepping back a bit to put some space between them. "Just someone I met at Pop's."

Archie lifted an eyebrow.

"Got a secret admirer already?" he asked teasingly.

"No," Billy rolled her eyes before squinting him. "Why, do you?" she accused.

"Nice try," he grinned before looking to his right. Billy followed his gaze and blinked in surprise again at the other person listening to their conversation with a shy grin. It was a girl about an inch taller than Billy with blonde hair pulled up into a neat ponytail and rosy cheeks. "Billy, this is Betty, my best friend. I don't know if you remember her or not. Betty, this is my cousin Billy."

Betty held out her hand with a pretty smile and Billy took it. The girl's hands were very soft.

"I do remember you," Billy said. "We met the day Archie's family and mine went camping."

"Yeah," Betty nodded, her lips shimmering with lip gloss. "Archie said something about his Dad's pants catching on fire that night?"

Billy nodded with a fond smile. "Ah, Uncle Fred. Never a dull moment with him."

"No kidding," Archie snorted before motioning to Betty. "I was actually just telling her about how you're staying with us and that you're going to Riverdale High."

"Really?" Billy asked, pointing between them. "You were talking about me the whole time? Archie, I'm flattered. I love you, too. You always were my favorite cousin," she gave his shoulder a playful shove, smiling in false bashfulness.

Archie laughed sarcastically. "I'm your only cousin."

Billy waved his comment away. "Details."

" _Anyway_ ," Archie stressed. "She offered to show you around campus if you need help finding your classes."

"Yeah," Betty agreed, wringing her fingers together nervously. "It'll be nice to have a new addition to our group. We haven't had one in a while. Actually, our group's gotten a bit smaller ever since last year," she said, giving Archie a meaningful look that he pursed his lips at. Billy had no idea what she was talking about and she wasn't going to pretend to.

"Just glad to be a part of it," she contributed cautiously, feeling awkward at the sudden tension that had grown between the two, most of which was emanating off of Archie in waves. Billy had a feeling this had been the topic they were really discussing prior to her arrival and she didn't want to be caught in the crossfire of it. Lovers quarrel, perhaps? Judging by the intensity of Betty's stare, Billy had a feeling it wasn't too far off. "I'm going to head inside," she said, pointing to the front door. "My feet are killing me and the bathtub is calling my name. If all of the candles in the house go missing, you know why," Billy tried laughing the tension away. She waved at Betty. "It was nice meeting you. Or, seeing you again, I guess?"

"Oh," Betty quickly looked away from Archie, her cheeks turning pink, before she smiled easily. "Yeah, you too! I'll… see you at school in a couple weeks?"

"Yeah, definitely," Billy gave the girl a smile before slipping past them, patting her cousin's shoulder heavily on the way.

"I'll be in in a minute," Archie shouted after her and Billy waved her hand above her head much like Jughead had.

"Take your time," she drawled before stepping into the house.

She gave a quick greeting to Fred who was lounging on the couch watching TV with a bowl of popcorn in his lap before climbing the stairs to her room. She tossed her messenger bag on her bed before laying a pair of fresh pajamas out on her bed. She then went into the hall closet to collect all the candles she could find and then went to prepare that bubble bath she'd been talking about with aromatherapy and all.

She climbed out forty minutes later with prune fingers and red skin and she opened her laptop as she changed out of her towel into her pajamas. It was an effort for her to get her towel-covered head through the tiny neck hole of her t-shirt but after three minutes of grunting and pulling she finally succeeded. She took a seat on her bed, sitting her laptop beside her as she logged on. She did her usual routine of signing into Skype and checking her email before opening up Facebook.

She browsed through the news feed for a while, liking the occasional post, before a picture of a familiar face popped up on her recommended friends list. It was a grainy photo of a boy clad in a grey beanie. The photo was a bit warped like he'd been moving when the photo was taken, and it mostly showed off the side of his face as he looked to someone out of frame but she definitely recognized the profile. 'Jughead Jones' was printed beneath the photo and Billy stared at it for what had to have been a minute straight before she clicked on it.

The page loaded to his profile and the first thing she noticed was his banner. It was a black and white photo of what looked to be a farming field, something that was obviously taken with a digital camera. She idly wondered if he was the one who took it or if it was just a picture he found off Flickr or something that he thought was aesthetically pleasing. She scrolled down a bit and saw basic information, like his location and what school he was currently going to. His wall was clearly private but it showed that he had 217 friends, none of which were mutuals with her. Not that she was surprised.

She scrolled back up and her cursor hovered over the **\+ Add Friend** button.

She weighed her options in her head. Would it be awkward for her to add him on social media? She was actually a bit surprised to find he was active on social media—he didn't seem like the type. Though it could've very well been that he hadn't logged onto his Facebook page in months, or years. The age of his profile picture was ambiguous at best. But as she thought about it, she realized people had added other people on Facebook for a lot less. She was 'friends' with a lot of people she never even talked to. So it wouldn't be weird, right?

Besides, this was the 21st Century. If she wanted to be his friend then social protocols dictated that adding him as a friend on a social media platform was one way to initial that. The worst he could do was deny the request, right? Or ignore it all together. How could it be that having someone reject your friend request on an internet website was one of the most upsetting feelings?

Biting her tongue, Billy quickly hit the **\+ Add Friend** button before closing out of Facebook and shutting her laptop.

She got dressed at a snail's pace, taking the time to put lotion on her legs before unwinding her hair from the towel. She brushed through it twice and ran some de-frizzing serum through it before going downstairs to grab a glass of milk. Archie was already inside sitting on the couch with his Dad (who was laughing boisterously at something obviously not that funny on TV), fingers typing rapidly on his phone. She quickly retrieved her glass before disappearing back up the stairs.

She took a generous gulp before opening her laptop again. Her eyes zeroed in on a red notification at the top of her Facebook page and she quickly clicked on it.

 **Jughead Jones has accepted your friend request!**

Billy smiled to herself. It worked! She clicked on his profile and this time all of his posts showed up. She skimmed through them, idly asking herself if it was weird for her to be looking at a guy's profile so in-depth that she'd only talked to a handful of times. He didn't seem to post statuses very often and when he did they were about as vague and mysterious as he was in person. He shared music videos a couple of times and Billy clicked on a few, having them play one by one in the background on a low volume.

She was just contemplating whether or not she wanted to send him a direct message when she spotted the photo of a red-haired girl on the right column of the page under the People You May Know tab. Billy suspected she was suggested because Jughead was the first person, besides Archie, that she'd befriended on Facebook who lived in Riverdale.

Cheryl Blossom read in fine print below a picture of the girl posing in a white bikini with puckered lips and a sultry look in her eye that still conveyed poison even through Billy's computer screen. Billy's eyes then slid to the suggestion next to Cheryl's and she spotted a boy that had features very similar to Cheryl's. And that's when Billy noticed the name.

Jason Blossom.

Feeling a morbid sense of curiosity, Billy clicked on his profile with a tremble in her gut. His page was empty. Something icy gripped her chest and she frowned at his profile picture. It was a picture of him and Cheryl posed together, his arms wrapped around her neck and hers wrapped around his middle. Their smiles were shockingly similar and Billy stared at the picture longer than she cared to admit and she couldn't help but wonder…

What _really_ happened to Jason Blossom?

* * *

 **Sorry for the long wait on this chapter! I ended up getting sick for the second time this year (haha I hate everything) so as I'm writing this I have the mother of all sore throats. I also just spent the last month moving and I ended up fracturing my foot (I have zero luck) and I'm _still_ working on treatment for that. But I've got to say that I am SO blown away by this story's... popularity? I don't know if you could call it that but I just found out that we're one follow away from 300 followers! That's insane! I don't even know what to say. Thank you so much for all the positive feedback you've given this story. You have no idea how much it means to me. I love reading all of your reviews and it's so nice to hear that I'm getting everyone's characters right. Starting next chapter we're going to be getting into the TV show so be prepared! I'm excited to start this journey with you all. Until next time~ xoxo**

 **Also, if any of you are curious about who Sarah Winchester is, she was the owner of the Winchester Mystery House in California. Wikipedia that shit.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the _Archie_ Comics nor any recognizable storylines from the CW's _Riverdale_. I only own my character(s) and basic plot of this story. This is rated T for language and mature scenes.**

* * *

"How do I look?" Billy asked nervously.

Archie paused halfway through the doorway of his room, pulling on a shirt with a toothbrush in his mouth. He glanced over at her and raised his eyebrows, smirking with a mouthful of toothpaste.

"I don't think I've ever seen you dressed that nice before. This is high school, Beatrice, not church," Archie mocked her but it was hard to take him seriously with the minty white fluff all over his lips. Billy rolled her eyes and smoothed down her peach-colored blouse. It wasn't that fancy. It had a little more flow to it than she was used to but it's not like it had _ruffles_.

"Seriously, does this look okay? Or does it look like I'm trying too hard?" she asked. It was Archie's turn to roll his eyes but he did it with a fond smile.

"You're the prettiest, most well-dressed cousin I have," he told her in an emphatic mocking tone.

"I'm your only cousin," she reminded him flatly. She glanced nervously down at her ensemble. She didn't think the black skinny pants were too much but maybe the shirt had to go. "I think I'm going to change."

"You're overthinking it!" Archie shouted after her.

Billy groaned into her palms before returning to the mess on her bed where she emptied her closet out. She didn't know why she bothered. She did this at the start of every new school year, even at a school she'd been going to for years, and it always ended the same way. She dressed to impress the first week or two, maybe a month if she was feeling motivated, but once she hit the second month of school she stopped caring and reverted back to her jeans, t-shirts and ratty Vans. She knew she would inevitably fall back into that same rut this year.

After replacing her shirt, she walked back into the hallway.

"How about now?" she held her arms open. She waited for Archie to reveal himself again and this time he was styling his hair while dressed in a white Henley shirt. She gestured theatrically to the mint-colored shirt she now wore. It was just a cotton shirt with a small white pocket on the left side under her collarbone. Archie nodded.

"That looks more like you," he approved. "Where'd you get the other shirt from?"

"It may or may not have been the shirt I wore to one of my friends' bible study groups last summer," she averted her eyes. Archie snickered. "I did it to impress her parents, okay? Neither of us wanted to go!"

"Sure, sure," Archie chuckled before disappearing back into his room.

Billy ran her fingers through her hair and walked back into her room to give herself one last once-over in the mirror hanging behind her door she bought from the Target a town over last week. She left her hair down and wavy, fading from a dark brown to a dull grey since she'd still yet to put any color over the platinum blonde. She realized that her mint shirt matched her weird hair color much better. She kept her black skinny jeans and she finished up the look with a pair of white Vans. It was mostly her signature look except she had a bit more makeup on than usual. Again, something she would soon lose interest in once schoolwork became too tiresome.

"You ready to go?" Archie's voice echoed down the hall as he stomped down the stairs.

"Yeah!" Billy shouted back.

She grabbed her messenger bag off the bed jam-packed with her newly acquired binders, notebooks, pencils, and highlighters. She swung it over her shoulder and shut her bedroom lamp off before making her way down the stairs, the scent of bacon wafting in the air and making her mouth water. She swung around the base of the banister and turned into the kitchen, spotting Fred piling up two platefuls of scrambled eggs and bacon.

"Wow Uncle Fred," Billy said, taking in the sight with a growling stomach. Archie was already piling food into his mouth at the island like a garbage disposal. "You really outdid yourself."

"Well it is your first day," Fred shrugged. "Thought I'd start it off right but don't be expecting this every day," he waved a grease-covered spatula at her. "I'm not usually up this early."

"You spoiled us this summer didn't you?" Billy teased as she took one of the offered plates.

"Yep," Fred answered without shame.

The three of them ate in silence, Billy's stomach clenching with nerves despite her hunger. She only managed to eat half the food and as she took her plate to the sink she noticed Archie was going back for seconds. She rolled her eyes at his ridiculous appetite and waited anxiously by the doorway another five minutes until he was ready to go. Fred practically shooed them out the door while Archie looped his arms through his letterman jacket.

"Good luck," Fred told them. "Don't run off and leave your cousin behind, Archie!"

"I won't!" Archie called back as they piled into the truck, Billy buckling herself into the driver's seat.

They hadn't quite figured out if her Connecticut license was going to be an issue or not but Fred assumed it was better having someone with a license drive than someone without. She waved at her uncle before pulling out of the driveway. He waved back with a proud grin and it was the last thing Billy saw before turning onto the road.

"Are you nervous?" Archie asked after a few minutes of silence. Every minute or so he'd direct her where to go even though she already knew the way.

"A little," she lied, using her short answer as an excuse for focusing on the road. Her stomach had tied itself in knots and she wanted nothing more than to turn the truck around and crawl back in bed for the rest of the year.

"You look like you're gonna hurl," Archie said. She didn't turn to look at his face but she heard the smirk in his voice.

"I'm going to try really hard not to in your Dad's truck," she admitted. Archie laughed.

"Relax, you're going to be fine. It's just high school."

"Says the sophomore letterman," Billy retorted wryly.

"You're the sophomore letterman's _cousin_ ," Archie emphasized in false renown. "Doesn't that count for something?"

"Oh go write a song about it," Billy muttered with no heat. Archie snickered and the rest of the drive was silent.

It wasn't long before they pulled into the parking lot of Riverdale High and Billy paled at how packed it was. She shouldn't have been too surprised; the few times she visited school wasn't even in session and one of the times the building was completely empty, but it still somehow caught her off guard. She pulled the truck into an empty parking space towards the back, too afraid to park closer to the front where all the students were milling about. Archie plucked his backpack and her bag from the backseat before hopping out of the truck and Billy followed slowly, gazing around at all the people she would soon call her peers.

Archie circled around the back of the truck and tossed her messenger bag at her the second they made eye contact. She caught it and wrapped it over her shoulder, following behind Archie as he made his way towards the school entrance. Every so often he'd pass someone who recognized him and they'd exchange greetings or share a handshake. Billy just tried to awkwardly blend into the background and thankfully no one paid her any mind.

"Come on," Archie said, making his way up the steps. "Let's go pick up our schedules."

There was a queue forming down one of the hallways and Archie got in line. Billy assumed this was where they picked up their schedules and she glanced around the hallway, spotting bulletin boards with colorful back to school flyers and metallic lockers scattered all down the hall. There was loud squeaking from sneakers as people shuffled in and out of the building, loud chatter echoing off the linoleum floors and making Billy's head spin.

"So this is the student lounge," Archie motioned to the room the line was backed up from. "They organize all our schedules by grade. You can hang out in here anytime you don't have class so you can spend your free period in here if you have one, though most of those are reserved for seniors, or your study hall or lunch. Doesn't matter as long as you're on campus," he explained. Billy nodded, clutching her messenger bag tightly.

They were quickly ushered inside the lounge and they had their schedules in hand within a few minutes. Billy squinted down at the list of subjects she dreaded taking and Archie held their schedules together so they could compare.

"Well," Archie said slowly, narrowing his eyes at the list before smiling brightly over at her. "We have Biology together."

"Yeah," Billy's shoulders slumped. "That's _all_ we have together. Besides lunch."

Archie sighed. "Let's go find your locker, we have another ten minutes."

She followed him down another winding hallway full of laughing teens and to Billy's relief her locker was only about halfway down the hall from Archie's. Archie left her at hers so he could put his backpack in his locker and she bit her lip as she tried putting in the combination listed at the bottom of her schedule. The print was faded and barely legible. She heard boisterous laughter and she glanced up, noticing that Archie had been surrounded by guys with baseball caps on. She sighed inwardly. She never realized how much of a popular guy her cousin was. She had a feeling being surrounded by a bunch of loud people she didn't know was going to be a regular occurrence.

It took three tries before she successfully opened her locker (turns out the twos she thought were twos were actually fives) and she took the time to organize it with the contents of her messenger bag. She preferred carrying her bag around but she didn't enjoy lugging all her books with her. She noticed her first period was English so she kept her designated folder in her bag for it along with a few pencils and pens and a notebook, and then stashed the rest of her things in her locker. Archie was thankfully excusing himself from the guys he was talking to by the time she was finished, laughing off the wolf whistles and whoops they were shooting in his direction. Whatever that was about.

He approached her the second she closed her locker and he leaned against it, arching an eyebrow.

"All good?"

"All good," Billy confirmed and Archie steered her back down the way they came.

"So your first class," he said, peering down at her schedule, "is English with Miss Cross in room 107. That's just down this way."

Billy followed along beside him, smiling politely at the people she accidentally made eye contact with. They either smiled back or expressionlessly looked away. _Just breathe,_ she steadied herself. She couldn't decide what she was most nervous about. The most obvious was being the new girl, but that was quickly being swallowed by the news of her breakdown at Archie's practice somehow being spread throughout the entire school before she even reached her first class. She tried shaking that off because it was ridiculous, not to mention unrealistic, but she couldn't help but think about how those boys were laughing with Archie. What were they laughing about? Were they teasing him about her?

 _Not likely,_ she tried to deny. What did boys laugh about anyway? Stupid stuff, right? They were probably talking about how buff he was and if he scored any hot girlfriends over the summer.

"So that guy you were with the other night," Archie's voice tore through her rambling thoughts, trying to make conversation as they ambled down another stretch of corridor. Billy furrowed her brows at him, her brain trying to catch up to the current topic at hand and which 'guy' Archie was referring to. "Did you just meet him?"

It took a few seconds before Billy realized he was talking about Jughead and the night he accidentally-on-purpose walked her home. She hadn't seen the boy since then but she'd also been avoiding Pop's to make better use of her time collecting school supplies. She did like one of his vague-yet-quirky Facebook posts the other night but that was about the only contact they had.

"Well, I met him at Pop's a while ago. I sit with him sometimes. He's a bit of a character," Billy said, shrugging a shoulder. Archie nodded with a hum that sounded a bit too innocent.

"Does he go here or, you know, is he older?"

Billy tossed Archie a look. "Seriously? Already playing the big brother card?"

"What?" Archie tossed up his hands. "It was just a question."

"Yes," she rolled her eyes, accidentally brushing shoulders with a girl who passed her. "If you must know, he does go here and he's our age. His name's—"

"Archie, hey!" a voice interrupted her and a body appeared on Archie's other side. It was a boy a couple inches taller than her with dark hair, crinkly dark eyes and a kind smile. Her mouth was still open, lips trying to form around the word 'Jughead' but deciding better of it and instead transforming into an awkward half-smile at the new addition to their party.

"Hey Kevin," Archie grinned. He jabbed a thumb in Billy's direction. "This is my cousin Billy. Billy, this is Kevin."

"Hi," she shook his hand.

"Cousin, huh? I didn't know Archie had any cousins," Kevin said, not unkindly.

"I'm the only one," Billy shrugged. "Even though he always says I'm his favorite."

"Gotta stay on her good side," Archie defended himself lightly. Kevin grinned crookedly.

"No kidding. Hey, have you seen Betty anywhere? I've been looking all over for her."

"I think she's showing another new girl around," Archie said, glancing over his shoulder as if expecting Betty to magically appear out of nowhere. Billy raised her eyebrows silently. Another new girl? Maybe there was hope for her yet. He then looked to Billy with a crooked eyebrow. "You want me to go find her so she can give you the grand tour? I'm sure she'll do a much better job than I will. She likes to get all technical. She'll probably give you a history lesson on the place or something."

Billy bit the inside of her cheek. "Actually, would you mind if I stayed with you? Just for now? It's all still kind of," she waved her hand around, "overwhelming and new."

She felt embarrassed saying it in front of Archie's friend, afraid that she'd make one or both of them look like a loser, but Kevin didn't seem to mind and neither did Archie who gave her a tiny shrug.

"That's fine."

"I'll go look for her then," Kevin said. He went to leave but backtracked. "By the way, we've got a school assembly during homeroom about you-know-who."

Archie's forehead wrinkled. "Really? Already?"

"You surprised?" Kevin asked. He didn't wait for Archie to answer and instead backed away with lifted eyebrows as if the question were rhetorical. He gave them a quick wave before slipping around the corner and Billy cast Archie an inquisitive stare.

"I guess they're going to be talking about Jason Blossom today," he said quietly. This wouldn't have been the first time Billy heard that name whispered since she entered the school. It seemed to be the hottest topic and something about it left icy tendrils in her gut. Maybe it was the way the name haunted the hallways, like some vital part of the school had been torn away.

"That's going to be uncomfortable," Billy said for lack of anything better. "Everyone here makes him seem like some larger than life person," she mentioned offhandedly in hopes that her comment would coax an explanation out of Archie. It did.

"Well other than the family he came from which speaks for itself, he was on the football team," he told her, speaking equally soft as they approached one of the classrooms at the far end of the hall. "And he was the captain of the water polo team. Everyone loved him."

"Water polo?" Aside from the fact that Riverdale High actually had a water polo team, something about that detail took her by surprise. "And yet he supposedly drowned?"

Archie lifted an eyebrow so quick Billy barely noticed it. "Weird, huh?"

"A little bit," she agreed. Neither one of them knew the circumstances of Jason's death or what events led to it happening, but Billy couldn't deny that was strange. He should've been a good swimmer.

"Well, here we are," Archie nodded to the classroom that was slowly beginning to fill up. Billy peeked her head in to scope out the room before turning back to look at him. "I've got someone I need to find but my class is just one hall over so meet up here after first period?"

"Okay," Billy nodded, her anxiety returning.

"See you then," he gave her shoulder a quick squeeze before hurrying down the hall.

Billy's brows knitted, wondering who exactly it was he needed to find before she bit the inside of her cheek. Now that Archie wasn't with her she felt exposed, like the people around her could now gawk freely without the repercussions of Archie noticing. Billy frowned at herself. She was _sixteen_ for crying out loud, she should be able to handle being alone at school by now. This wasn't her first day of kindergarten where her mother had to hold her hand all the way to her seat where she proceeded to cry and clutch her leg begging her not leave her there.

The thought was tempting but she didn't want to embarrass Archie like that.

Billy stepped into the room with a measure of calmness she did not possess. There was a thin woman sitting at the front desk with her name written across the whiteboard and several students had already claimed seats, all of which were along the back two rows. Billy situated herself somewhere in the middle before she could overthink the layout of the classroom and the minute her messenger bag touched the ground the bell rang, causing Billy to jump.

Her ears were immediately met with loud chatter as swarms of teenagers began to pile into the room, laughing and talking amongst themselves as they found spots next to one another. Billy tried to keep her gaze casual as she looked around the room. Unsurprisingly she didn't see anyone she recognized except for one of the guys wearing a baseball cap. He sat directly behind her, only spiking her heart rate further, but he didn't pay her a speck of attention as he immediately spun in his seat to chat with the person behind him. She breathed a sigh of relief and made herself more comfortable as she pulled a notebook and pencil free from her bag.

Here we go.

To be honest Billy didn't pay attention to much. Since it was still early she had a hard time keeping her eyes open. She knew the teacher, Miss Cross, spent over half the lesson talking about the syllabus, going on a brief tangent about the late policy and what the definition of a 'due date' was when it came to homework. Apparently they were supposed to check out some sort of textbook from the school library but it was mentioned on the syllabus so Billy didn't feel too concerned about not catching the name of it. All she really took from the class was that no one had to get up and introduce themselves – thank god – and the boy who sat behind her didn't listen when he was told to be quiet.

By the time the bell rang Billy was trying to stifle a yawn as she packed away her things. Knowing that the rest of her day was going to go similarly only made her more exhausted and she pulled her messenger bag over her shoulder with all the sluggishness of a snail. Archie was waiting for her outside the classroom like he said he would be. The guy in the baseball cap slapped his shoulder in a dude-bro sort of way to which Archie returned with much less force and a nod of his head.

"How'd it go?" he asked when he spotted her.

"Other than trying not to drool on my syllabus just fine," Billy said. She dug her schedule out of her pocket and showed it to Archie who grabbed it from her.

"Your next class is Spanish," he read from the list. Billy's shoulders slumped.

"A foreign language so early?" she whined, tossing her head back. "I can barely understand English right now."

Archie cracked a grin. "Good news is second period is homeroom so you probably won't be in there very long."

"Right, the assembly," she nodded, this time yawning for real.

Archie helped her find the classroom before trotting off to his next one and, true to Archie's word, there was only a brief introduction – that was spoken half in English and half in Spanish, much to Billy's horror, she didn't take a foreign language class at her last school – before the school Principal made an announcement over the loudspeaker that everyone was to report to the gym.

Billy followed the line of students pouring out of their classes all down the hall where they walked across campus to the gymnasium that was painted in various shades of blue and gold.

They piled chaotically into the stands. Billy sat between two girls, her arms held straight in her lap from the lack of elbow room. She noticed there was a podium placed in the center of the room with a line of chairs along the front of it for staff. Two portraits of Jason Blossom were printed and on display on either side of the podium. A young girl dressed in black broke free from the students still entering through the double doors that Billy immediately recognized as the redhead from Pop's that night with Jughead. What had her name been?

A dark-skinned man approached the podium once the doors closed, holding his hand up to gain everyone's attention. Billy assumed he was the Principal.

"Settle down, please. Settle down," his voice echoed powerfully off the gym walls. Conversations died down until it was silent enough for a pen to drop. The man gave a fleeting smile. "Thank you. First and foremost I'd like to welcome you all back. Hopefully everyone enjoyed their summers and is ready to tackle a new year at Riverdale. Just as a reminder, we advise that you have all of your syllabuses signed by a parent or guardian and returned to us by the end of the week."

Billy's gaze flitted through the crowd of students. After a few seconds of searching she found Archie's familiar head of stark red hair a few rows down from her.

"We'll have our first real assembly next week to talk about events coming up this year along with announcing the sports teams. Go Bulldogs!" Billy awkwardly clapped along with everyone else as he raised a fist in team spirit. "But now onto the main reason we called this meeting. Over the summer we lost someone very special to us. Jason Blossom was a bright young man with a promising future. He was very contributable in extracurricular activities well known by most here. He was a gentleman, a scholar, and an athlete, and is sorely missed by everyone here."

Billy felt a bit uncomfortable. She felt like she was the only one in the room who never knew Jason personally. The Principal's words struck a chord in her and even though she hadn't known him, she could almost feel the pain of his passing through everyone around her. But it didn't feel genuine because it wasn't her feelings. She bit her bottom lip, realizing she'd tuned out part of the Principal's speech.

"… sister is here to make a few words on her brother's behalf. Everyone please welcome Cheryl Blossom to the stand."

Everyone clapped and the girl stepped delicately onto the stage after receiving a pat on the shoulder from the Principal. Her ensemble was formal even for a funeral and Billy immediately felt guilty for thinking it.

"Thank you, Principal Weatherbee, for your kind words," Cheryl's voice rang melodically. She lifted her chin and gazed out at the crowd with all the intensity of a preacher about to give a sermon. "As you've just heard and probably already knew, Jason was incredibly special. He touched the lives of everyone he met and he was the pride and joy of our family. Losing him has been the hardest thing we've had to face but if it wasn't for the love and support you've shown us, we wouldn't have been able to make it through this difficult time. With your donations we were able to hold a beautiful ceremony for Jason that couldn't have done him more justice. It was with that ceremony that we honored Jason's memory and lifted his spirit for all to see.

"Many of you were lucky enough to have personally known my brother. Each and everyone one of you meant the world to him. I loved my brother. Whether you believe in soulmates or not, I know he was mine and he always will be a part of me. I speak with a confidence only a twin can have when I say Jason wouldn't want us to spend the year mourning. He would want us to move on with our lives, which is why I've asked the school board not to cancel the back to school semi-formal."

There was excited applause and Billy couldn't help but feel baffled. They cancelled a formal because of the death of a student? She couldn't help but wonder how revered Jason Blossom was at Riverdale High.

Cheryl's smile was proud as she said, "Instead, we can use it as a way to heal collectively and celebrate my brother's too short life in this world. Thank you all."

There was more clapping along with a few hoots from the students and Cheryl bowed her head before descending the podium. Feeling a bit like she had an out of body experience, Billy stood along with everyone else after Principal Weatherbee announced that they return to their classrooms.

The events of the assembly left Billy feeling strangely empty the rest of the morning. Clearly Jason Blossom was more important than she originally thought. Something about the situation bothered her though. Try as she might she couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe it was the way Cheryl went about the situation, or her entire family for that matter. Archie told Billy right when she moved in that the Blossom family was promoting charity work for the death of their son downtown, but that was after the funeral had supposedly taken place. What else did they need money for? And why was the wealthiest family in Riverdale asking for donations in the first place? It didn't add up.

She mentioned this to Archie while they searched for a table at lunch.

"That's just how the Blossom family is," Archie shrugged a shoulder. "Even if they had all the money in the world it wouldn't be enough."

"But extorting their son's death? What sensible family would do that?" Billy asked as they found an empty table in the courtyard.

"No one ever said the Blossoms were sensible," Archie retorted. Billy's shoulders slumped in defeat.

She picked at her sandwich, taking a few bites as she listened to the idle chatter of the courtyard mixed with the sounds of birds chirping in the tree above them. Archie pulled his laptop out of his bag and placed it in front of him, turning it on. Billy frowned.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"I had a power bar during fourth period," he shrugged. "I can't eat before try-outs."

" _Try-outs?_ " Billy looked like she tasted something sour. "For what?"

"Football," he stated obviously, clicking a few things on his laptop.

"Aren't you already on the team? Why would you have to try-out?" she squinted.

"It's just a formality," Archie shook his head. "Sometimes they make changes on the current team, sometimes they add new players... it happens."

"Athletics," Billy sneered. None of it made sense. Archie cracked a grin.

Billy was halfway through her sandwich when two bodies joined their table. She looked up to see Betty and the boy she met in the hallway earlier, Kevin. Billy didn't miss the way Betty squeezed in snuggly next to Archie despite the extra room on her other side. She lifted her eyebrows but didn't say anything, though Kevin seemed to follow her train of thought and he gave her a secret smile when she looked his way.

'Endgame,' he mouthed. Billy smiled behind a drink of her soda. She knew Archie had mushy-romantic feelings for someone. It's not like that emotional, slow music came out of nowhere.

Betty leaned her head forward to smile at Billy.

"Hi, Billy. How's your first day?" she asked kindly.

Billy put her sandwich down and brushed her fingers off. "I want to say 'better than expected' but that implies that the day is actually going well. It's about as monotonous as any other first day of school except without any real excitement."

"None at all?" Betty seemed disappointed.

"No, that's the part that I like," Billy corrected quickly. "No excitement, no loud announcements about where I came from or who I'm related to. Not that I'm embarrassed about being related to you," Billy assured Archie.

"Cousin of a letterman," he reminded her, only half-listening. Betty smiled at him in a starry-eyed sort of way that couldn't have been intentional. Billy's eyes flashed over to Kevin who was giving her that look again.

'I get it,' she mouthed back. He tapped his nose.

"Right," she replied to Archie, this time out loud. "The food's not bad though. I'm pretty sure the food at my last high school was alive. I like my steak rare and fish uncooked but it was still a bit much."

"You have the Blossoms to thank for that," Kevin informed her. "They protested the lunch menu freshman year and I guess the mayor listened to them. It was a big thing, even the Superintendent was here. The food wasn't even that bad before but it's not like I'm going to complain. We get Chik-fil-A on Thursdays."

"Is there a Chik-fil-A close by?" Billy wrinkled her brows.

"No," Kevin said with a smile. Billy nodded slowly with a silent 'oh'.

"Right," she said. "The Blossoms."

"They kind of indirectly run the school, like evil puppet masters with the school board on their strings," he mused with a shrug, "but it's only a little irritating. They get us good deals."

"Hey guys," Archie spoke up. "Not to intentionally break up the weekly gossip about the Blossoms—"

"Weekly?" Kevin snorted, going along with the charade. Betty gave him an amused smile. "More like daily."

Archie opened his mouth to retort but settled with just nodding instead. "Anyway, I've got something here I want you guys to listen to."

"Is it one of your songs?" Betty asked, giddy with anticipation despite her usually calm demeanor. Archie gave her a slow smile.

"Just listen," he said.

He pressed play and the soft strum of a guitar flowed quietly through the speakers. Billy perked up, recognizing it to be the tune he played for her before. It sounded very professional, almost as if it'd been recorded in a studio, and Billy gazed at the laptop intently as she listened. When she heard him begin to sing, a smile split across Billy's face. Hearing him now solidified how talented he actually was and Billy nudged Archie with her shoulder, giving him a proud smile the second they made eye contact. The smile he returned was meek and bashful. The song continued to play for a few more seconds and Billy felt herself relax as she listened. It had a folksy rhythm to it that she found captivating and judging by the delicate flush in Betty's cheeks, she enjoyed it too.

"Can I join?" a voice interrupted.

Billy looked up as Archie snapped his laptop shut, effectively cutting off the music. A girl with soft black hair dressed nicely in a form-fitting dress was lingering at the edge of the table with a tray of food in her hands. Billy, of course, didn't recognize her but Betty seemed to as she was broken out of her trance with a hint of dismay.

"Of course," Betty invited and the girl slid in opposite her next to Kevin with a curious smile.

"What are we doing?" she asked.

"Listening to one of Archie's songs," Betty flashed Archie a teasing smile.

"I thought we were going to have to pretend to like it," Kevin admitted with no shame. "But it was actually really good."

"Wait," the girl looked to Archie, something glittering in her brown eyes. "That was you singing? Something you wrote?"

"It's rough," Archie shook his head modestly.

"No it's not," Betty immediately denied. Billy had to agree with her.

"It's great," Billy told him with a hand on his arm.

"More like incredible from what I heard," the girl exclaimed. Betty slumped a little in her seat, seemingly put off by the girl's compliment, and Billy hid her frown behind another drink of soda. "Is that your thing? Music? Are you a musician?"

"Kind of a musician-in-training," Archie answered before gesturing between her and Billy. "This is my cousin, Billy. It's her first day, too."

"Hi," Billy gave her a small wave and the girl smiled at her. It was the kind of smile Billy couldn't tell was friendly or not. The girl looked like she came from money which, in Riverdale, seemed to never be a good sign but since she was new Billy wasn't quick to judge.

"Veronica," the girl supplied her name.

"How's your first day going?" Kevin asked her. Veronica rubbed her hands together, appearing chagrinned.

"Not to be a complete narcissist but I thought people would be more…"

"Obsessed with you?" Kevin finished. Veronica smiled slowly and Kevin nodded. "Any other year the two of you would be trending number one. But instead of the student body swarming you like locus, Cheryl's stealing all the limelight. We think she's trying to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Psycho with her role as Riverdale High's bereaved red widow."

Billy tried to not let her smile show. She felt Archie tense up next to her and she turned to look at him, only to see his attention was drawn elsewhere.

"Hey, I should get going," he announced suddenly, packing up his laptop in his bag as he unhooked a leg over the bench. "I've got that meeting with Grundy and football try-outs."

"You play football too?" Veronica asked, eyes wide as she absorbed all the juicy details that made up Archie Andrews. "What don't you do?"

Archie laughed lightly, choosing not to answer. He tugged on Billy's hair. "I'll see you next period, yeah? Come find me at my locker if you need to."

"Yeah, okay," Billy nodded with a half-smile, feeling like the odd one out as Archie hurriedly made his way across the field. She watched him go with a sense of detachment, even as Betty slid closer to her with a warm smile. Billy returned the smile, feeling slightly more confident before the warmth was drenched in freezing cold water as another voice joined their group.

"Veronica Lodge," an eerily familiar voice drawled, stepping up to their table. Billy's eyes caught the bright red of the girl's skirt first before following it up to a navy blue shirt and flowing red hair that seemed to glow like flames under the afternoon sun. Cheryl Blossom smiled with pouty lips, eyes crinkling around the edges. "I've heard whisperings. And you must be Beatrice Whitaker," her dark eyes flashed to Billy, sugary smile still present. Billy inwardly cringed at the use of her full name.

"Just Billy," Billy replied, casting the girl a wary smile. Cheryl ignored her in favor of sinking her invisible claws into Veronica.

"Welcome to Riverdale. I'm Cheryl Blossom. May I sit?" she slid into the vacant spot next to Betty without waiting for an answer. Betty tossed Billy an exasperated look before scooting over to accommodate the redhead and in return Billy moved over as well, brows wrinkled. "So, what are you four hens gossiping about? Archie's Efron-esque emergence from the chrysalis of puberty?"

Noticing Betty's subtle shake of the head, Veronica replied with a terse smile, "Extracurriculars. Weatherbee wants me to sign up for a few."

Billy certainly hoped the Principal didn't expect the same from her. She couldn't help but wonder why she hasn't had a run-in with the man yet. She had a feeling it might've been Uncle Fred's overprotective streak at play; she wouldn't put it past him to deny her a visit with the Principal before she had the chance to wind down. She figured she should probably thank him for that.

"Cheerleading," Cheryl offered, that sickly smile still present. "You must. I'm the senior captain of the River Vixens."

"Is cheerleading still a thing?" Kevin insulted with a snide leer.

"Is being the gay best friend still a thing?" Cheryl snapped icily. Billy's lips thinned as Kevin's jaw clenched.

"Some people say it's retro. I say it's eternal and iconic."

"At Spence I sat at the top of the Elites' pyramid," Veronica said, accepting the girl's challenge. "I'll be there. Betty, you're trying out too," Veronica informed the blonde who seemed to shrink into herself at the proclamation before turning to look at Billy. "Are you in?"

Cheryl's predatory smile sank into one of condescension, her brown eyes twinkling with mirth and contempt that made Billy's insides burn and before she knew what was happening she was speaking.

"I'd rather pull my fingernails out with pliers than be a cheerleader," Billy said with a smile too pleasant to be genuine, feeling Cheryl's snakelike gaze penetrate the side of her head with all the force of a jackhammer.

It only took about a tenth of a second after she said it that Billy realized what sentence actually left her mouth and she felt her stomach shrivel up as her blood turned to ice. She recoiled into herself a bit as she felt the brunt of the aftermath, the air thick with tension as she stared down at the tabletop as if contemplating whether or not she could hit her head hard enough to knock herself unconscious. The metaphorical foot in her mouth seemed to be choking her well enough, though.

Betty was silent beside her, shoulders stiff as she awkwardly prodded the food on her plate, but there seemed to be a ghost of a smile on her lips despite the intensity of the situation. The look on Veronica's face was unreadable. She seemed like the cheerleader type, which Billy couldn't decide was an insult or not, so she may or may not have been offended. Kevin was looking the other way drumming his knuckles on the table, but when she caught the corner of his eye he winked. At least two out of the four people there didn't visibly want her dead. Clearly it was time for her to make a hasty exit before she inserted her entire leg into her mouth.

Billy slowly stood from the table like she was making her final walk to the electric chair, swinging her messenger bag over her shoulder before grabbing her trash. "I'll see you guys later."

"See you around, _Billy_ ," Cheryl called first with a poisonous smile, words laced with sickly sweet venom enough to give Billy a stomach ache. She eyed Billy like a vulture ready to pick a corpse, delicate face sharp and cold and calculating.

Billy waved to the other three at the table and turned away, eyes widening the second her back was to them. Her heart raced as she released the breath she'd been holding, feeling her chest loosen from the strain. The further away she got, the more she wondered if making an immediate enemy out of Cheryl Blossom was a good idea. Billy usually wasn't one to voice her opinions out loud if she knew they could get her in trouble but there was something about Cheryl that flared her temper. If she'd been smart and thought before she spoke, she probably wouldn't have said anything at all. Now she had a feeling there was a giant red target on her back with Cheryl's name written all over it.

"I'm so stupid," she muttered, stomping through the grass with a glare of self-loathing. "I'm an idiot. I'm _such_ an idiot. Getting on someone's hate list the first day of school. Great idea, Billy. Splendid choice. Maybe you should crash football try-outs and slap the quarterback just for the heck of it. That'll make you even _more_ likeable."

Billy continued to berate herself under her breath as she stepped across the field, having every intentions of going to find Archie so he could help dig the hole she just buried herself in. She spotted a set of stairs leading into the side of the school and was about to head for them when she noticed a dark figure curled up under a tree out of the corner of her eye. She paused and squinted over at them, eyes alighting with recognition. She looked to the stairs one more time before pursing her lips and walking over to the hunched figure.

"Hey," Billy greeted once she was a few feet away. Jughead looked up from the notepad in his hand, a strand of hair falling out of his beanie and down into his eyes as he peered up at her.

"Hey yourself," he replied, brows knitted.

"I didn't think I was going to run into you today," Billy said, dry grass crunching beneath her shoes as she hovered next to his backpack. She was surprised to not see his laptop anywhere. She motioned to the ground beside him. "Can I sit?"

"You're actually asking this time?" Jughead arched an eyebrow, the corner of his lips quirking up.

"Well, it's a different environment here so I didn't know if the same rules applied," Billy shrugged meekly.

"I suppose they do," he inclined his head after a moment of false consideration. He moved his things aside. "Sure."

Billy flopped down into the grass. There wasn't enough room to lean back on the tree next to him so she settled for crossing her legs as she sat her bag in her lap. The shade felt nice and as she glanced over at Jughead she saw he was sketching something in his notepad. The pencil markings were light and there was no intricate detail yet so Billy didn't know what he was drawing but whatever it was didn't look half bad.

"Where are you friends?" Billy asked for lack of anything better to say.

"Kind of prefer being on my own," Jughead said as he returned to his sketch. Billy couldn't say she blamed him. "How's your first day?"

"It was going well," she muttered, her stomach clenching with dread. She hated knowing there were people out there that didn't like her. It didn't sit well with her, especially since she was the sole reason for their dislike. It would've been different if she hadn't said anything and Cheryl still hated her because at least then she would've known there was no excuse for it.

"'Was'?"

"I kind of said something to Cheryl that could be misconstrued as an insult," she said carefully. Jughead grinned.

"What'd you say?"

Billy's cheeks flushed. "Doesn't matter now. The point is I should probably go into hiding."

"That bad huh?"

"Oh yeah."

"Don't worry," Jughead said as he sat his notepad aside. "She's got bigger fish to fry. You might be her point of interest for a week tops."

"A whole week?" Billy's forehead creased in worry. The anxiety settled in her chest and Jughead craned his head to look at her.

"I'm sure your cousin will protect you," he mocked lightly.

"I wouldn't count on it," Billy argued flatly, staring ahead as a few birds landed in the grass to pick at the bread crumbs leftover from someone's lunch. "He has better things to do."

"Like what?" Jughead challenged.

"I don't know," Billy waved her arms around. "Popular guy stuff. Football things, writing music… I probably won't even tell him. Maybe I'm just making a big deal out of nothing. Everyone has enemies in high school, right?"

"Right," Jughead agreed wryly.

Billy ran her fingers through her hair as she tossed a few blades of grass into the wind that she'd plucked out of the ground in her nervousness.

"What about you?" she sighed. "How's your day going?"

"Monotonous, uninformative and not even a little educational."

"So… normal?" Billy guessed, turning to give him an inquisitive smile.

Jughead nodded. "Normal."

Billy bobbed her head. "Are you going to the semi-formal?"

Jughead snorted. "Not likely."

Billy tilted her head. "Why not?"

"It's archaic," Jughead gave her a dubious look. "Dressing up in fancy suits and dresses to celebrate another year of the flawed organization that is the American public school system? No thanks."

Billy grinned despite herself. "You're just a ray of sunshine aren't you? It's kind of funny seeing you out in the daytime since I usually only see you at night. The birds are chirping, the flowers are in bloom, and here you are in all of your," she motioned theatrically to his all-black attire, "darkness."

"It's the strangest thing. My skin tingles whenever I go into direct sunlight, I don't know what it is," he shook his head emphatically as a smile grew on Billy's face. "And last night when I tried to have garlic bread? Totally burned a hole in my stomach."

"I don't see a hole anywhere," Billy leaned forward to glance down at his shirt.

"Well I also have super healing," he explained with a smirk. Billy nodded as if she should've known.

"Convenient."

"Crosses don't repel me though because, un-ironically, crosses are in now. You might even see me wearing one from time to time. Hipster represent."

"Undead hipster represent," she corrected.

"I need a pin that says that like right now."

Billy laughed. Jughead leaned his head back against the trunk of the tree with a soft grin, lifting one of his knees to rest his arm on top of it. Billy slowly felt her anxiety ebbing away and she played with the frayed hem of her messenger bag's strap as she watched the students milling about in the courtyard, some laughing and playfully throwing food, others simply reading and enjoying their time out of school.

"You know," Billy mused as a cool breeze ruffled her hair. "Not to offend your culture or anything, but this weather's actually really nice. Very _Ferris Bueller's Day Off_ , you know? It makes me hate that we have to go back inside."

"My _culture_?" Jughead repeated, squinting over at her. "You know I'm not actually a vampire, right?"

"I don't know," Billy sang airily. "You're not in the sun right now, technically, and I never actually saw you walk out here. For all I know there could be a secret passageway under the tree that leads to the school's basement."

The bell rang and Billy's shoulders sagged as her heart lurched behind her ribcage. Jughead stashed his notepad in his backpack before hopping to his feet and tossing the backpack over one of his shoulders. He held out his hand to Billy and, heaving a deep sigh, she accepted it and he pulled her to her feet. Together they began walking towards the school and Jughead gestured to himself once they stepped out from the shade.

"See? I'm not bursting into flames."

"For all I know there's some anecdote you can take with your morning Wheaties that allows you to walk in the sun. Oh!" she pointed accusingly at Jughead and he glanced down at the finger, nearly going cross-eyed. " _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ ," she announced proudly. "Spike had a ring that let him walk in the sun. I bet you have some special jewelry on."

"Well I do have a piercing with a sparkly red jem on it," Jughead inclined his head agreeably. Billy frowned, unsure if he was joking or not.

"Where?"

"Nowhere you can see."

Billy's mouth fell open and she fell behind a bit as Jughead continued on, self-satisfied smirk evident on his face. Billy quickly caught up with him and fell into stride as they climbed up the stairs, the cold air conditioning from the building sending chills down Billy's spine.

"Seriously?" she asked, eyes wide and cheeks a little red. Jughead lifted his chin, choosing to remain silent. "I mean, I'm not going to judge you for it, it's your body and you can do what you want with it, I didn't actually mean—I was just—"

"Get your mind out of the gutter," Jughead grinned as he followed her naturally to her locker. She picked at the lock as he leaned his shoulder on the locker next to it. "Maybe I just have a navel piercing."

"Show me," Billy demanded. Jughead gasped, his face twisting as he put an affronted hand to his chest.

"At least ask me on a date first."

Billy froze suddenly. Her grip was loose on the locked dial as she stared up at the locker, her face pale. Jughead's face slacked when he noticed her change in behavior and he frowned quizzically.

"What's wrong?"

Billy's mouth fell open and she turned to look up at Jughead with a hint of mortification. "This isn't my locker."

Jughead's eyebrows rose and he looked like he wanted to laugh but Billy quickly grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and tugged him away before the owner of the locker appeared and accused Billy of trying to steal their personal belongings. Billy glanced around the hallway in confusion, her forehead wrinkled as she tried to make sense of where they were in comparison to where she entered that morning. She tried to envision which direction Archie led her in after they got their schedules but as the hallway became more packed, her concentration dwindled. Jughead rolled his eyes next to her.

"Schedule."

Billy pulled the wadded up schedule out of her pocket and placed it delicately in Jughead's outstretched palm. He gave her a bemused look before unfolding it, eyes skimming the page before flashing up to hers.

"We're on the wrong side of the building."

Billy's face was beet red as Jughead led her to the correct hallway. Billy grinned in thanks once he tapped her correct locker, still feeling embarrassed as she made quick work of the dial. This time it clicked when she entered the combination and she smiled proudly, pulling the door open to switch out her notebooks and folders.

"What's my next class?" she asked, voice falling flat against the surface of the locker door that separated her from Jughead.

"Biology," he answered after glancing over her schedule. There was a brief pause as Billy grabbed her notebook with Biology written on it in neat, colorful cursive. She placed the items in her bag before closing the locker, jumping as Jughead's face was there to greet her. He was giving her an amused look. "Your real name's Beatrice?"

Billy snatched the schedule out of his hands and quickly stuffed it back in her front pocket.

"Yes," she muttered. "Please don't call me that."

Her head turned from left to right, once again feeling completely turned around.

"Where's Biology?" she asked, feeling a bit like a lost puppy. She should have gone to find Archie; he was her designated tour guide. Jughead tugged her down one of the corridors.

"This way. It's my next class, too."

"Really?" Billy grinned, feeling a wave of relief. "Good. I haven't recognized a single person in all of my classes today. Apparently my cousin's in this one too, though, so that'll be nice."

Jughead stiffened up a bit at this but conveniently for him Billy didn't notice.

She followed him down another hallway until they reached an open classroom. Jughead gestured her inside first with a half-hearted smirk and, because of the little detour they took, everyone else was already in their seats. The bell rang right as Jughead stepped through the threshold of the room and their teacher, a younger looking gentlemen with glasses in a white lab coat, pointed to the only available lab station in the front of the room with his pen.

Billy flashed the man an apologetic smile and hurried to one of the seats, Jughead slinking after her at a much more casual pace as his smirk fell. He took a seat next to her and Billy glanced over her shoulder, spotting Archie sitting with Betty at one of the middle tables. He was giving her a strange look, brows furrowed as his gaze flitted between her and Jughead. Betty's face was contorted similarly, taken aback with Billy's seemingly newfound company. Billy flashed the two of them an awkward smile before placing her bag on the floor next to her chair.

Jughead had his face ducked next to her, shoulders slumped and appearing as though he were trying to make himself look invisible.

"Are you alright?" Billy whispered as the teacher moved to close the door, a stack of papers cradled in his grip.

"Fine," Jughead replied stiffy, looking away.

Surprised by the heat in his tone she pulled back, frowning at his back as he rested his chin on his arms against the tabletop. She turned to look at Archie and Betty again, noticing them murmuring to each other with Betty's gaze still locked on Billy and Jughead's table.

What was that about?

* * *

 **I'm still so blown away by the reception this story's getting. I never expected it and I honestly don't get it. You guys are way too good to me. Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I was unhappy with it for the longest time but I've come to realize that writing Jughead into scenes is starting to become my favorite thing as well as this new dynamic him and Billy are developing. It's overwhelmingly nice to hear that you guys think I'm keeping him in character. I'm hoping to give him an even bigger role in the next chapter so that should be fun. Thank you guys so much for the feedback, I can't believe this story has as many favorites and follows as it does. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Hopefully you're still enjoying the story even if it does take me a while to update. Until next time! xoxo**

 **#UndeadHipstersRepresent**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the _Archie_ Comics nor any recognizable storylines from the CW's _Riverdale_. I only own my character(s) and basic plot of this story. This is rated T for language and mature scenes.**

* * *

Jughead was out of his seat a split second before the bell rang.

Billy silently watched him go, more confused than ever and a little hurt by his sudden abrasiveness. She couldn't figure out what went wrong between him playfully mocking her name and ignoring her entire existence. Unless he was peeved that she almost made him late to class, it didn't add up. That had to have meant it wasn't her fault, right? Which meant there was only one other factor.

"What was that about?" Billy asked Archie as she met him in the threshold of the classroom doorway.

Betty was standing quietly behind him with a wary look on her face and Billy didn't have enough time to gauge that before her cousin was tugging her down the hallway. Billy didn't enjoy being manhandled but she accepted it if it was going to get her answers. Archie paused near a row of lockers, Billy naturally leaning back against the cool metal while Archie turned to face her. Billy couldn't read the expression on his face but something told her he wasn't pleased.

"What did he say to you?" Archie asked immediately. Billy's brows wrinkled.

"Who?"

Archie opened and closed his mouth. "The kid you were sitting next to."

Billy felt like she was missing something.

"Nothing?" she frowned. "I mean, he helped me find my class. Why, what's wrong with that?"

"So he didn't say anything?" Archie pressed.

"About _what_?" Billy asked exasperatedly. "Either you honestly believe he showed me to Biology without physically saying a single word or there's another part of this you aren't telling me," her eyes scanned Archie's face as if she'd be able to unravel all his secrets and read them like invisible ink on his skin. When the look on his face didn't give anything away Billy asked, "What's going on? Do you not like him or something? Do you guys have some sort of beef with each other? Because I was under the impression he didn't know you existed."

Something about what Billy said must've clicked in Archie's brain. His eyes flitted away from Billy's face for a second as if contemplating something before he reconnected their gaze, his expression slightly less sharp.

Archie's shoulders slumped and he backed away.

"Nothing," he said, tone falling flat. The resigned way he spoke suggested he wasn't telling the whole truth. "He's just a little weird, that's all."

For a second Billy was completely thrown.

"'A little weird'?" she squinted, insides flaring. She may not have spent much time with her cousin since her family moved but she knew that, at least before they grew distant, he was a good person. He enjoyed helping others and he was always polite to strangers even if he felt they didn't deserve it. That's why she was so caught off guard. For a moment it was like she was talking to a completely different person – a boy she didn't even know. And despite the fact that Jughead was still new to her in a lot of ways, Billy couldn't help but feel slightly protective of him. He wasn't _weird_. "Since when do you judge people like that?"

It made Billy feel a little better to see a flicker of shame on Archie's face, like a part of him she recognized still existed. Betty was watching the two of them closely, wringing her fingers together nervously and looking fearful that a fight might break out. She stepped forward when neither Billy nor Archie said a word and she laid a careful hand on Archie's forearm.

"Okay, let's ease up on the big brother act, alright?" Betty said delicately, for the moment speaking as if Billy weren't around. "I know you're worried about her but she's allowed to make her own friends."

"Friends," Archie repeated like he didn't know the meaning of the word. Billy shifted under his stare, feeling like she was being accused of something she shouldn't have done.

"Well yeah," Billy answered his unasked question lamely. "I mean, I met him at Pop's a few weeks ago. It's not like we arrange playdates every weekend or anything but we've been known to on occasion make small talk."

"Really," Archie said like he didn't believe her. Billy felt inclined to explain herself.

"I wouldn't consider us _friends_ exactly," she defended herself even though she didn't know why she had to. Why should it matter to Archie what friends she made? And why would she care what he thought? The only person she didn't feel attacked by was Betty who was giving her a cautiously sympathetic look as she grappled for something to say. "More like really civil acquaintances."

"He's the one who walked you home isn't he?" Archie asked, finally beginning to connect the dots.

"Yes," Billy said defiantly. "What's wrong with that, _Dad_?"

Her heart jolted at the unpleasant reminder of her father and it felt like the organ had lodged itself in her throat. Archie's eyes flashed, having a similar reaction to the indirect reference of his late uncle, and the shift in conversation was palpable, the air growing thick between them. Betty once again stepped in before it could escalate.

"It looked like you guys were having fun at least," she tried, attempting a smile at Billy before clarifying, "When you got to class."

"Yeah, until we sat down," Billy agreed without taking her eyes off the redhead, accusation coloring her tone. Betty's sigh was almost unheard, sounding like a mother exasperated with her two misbehaving children. Billy glared at Archie. "Don't think I missed the way you looked at him. Just because he's not like you doesn't mean you have the right to think of yourself as better. The Archie Andrews I grew up with wouldn't have treated someone like that."

"I'm not treating him like _anything_ ," Archie snapped in a raised voice. When he garnered looks from passing students he exhaled slowly before rubbing a hand down his face. "Look, I'm just… I'm sorry, okay?" he said, voice gentler. "Like Betty said, I was just… being the big brother. I can't help but worry about you. Dad worries about you. We just want you to be okay. What you went through, it—" he stopped himself short, exhaling slowly through his nose as he looked at Billy. "We just want you to be okay," he finished.

The tension slowly left her shoulders at the sight of Archie flashing his big brown eyes at her. It was the puppy dog look he'd mastered when he was five, the same look that got both him and Billy out of trouble more times than she could count. It was a look no one could resist, apparently not even her. She licked her lips and carefully relaxed against the lockers, feeling reluctantly grateful for Archie's concern, however warped and disillusioned it was.

"I'm fine," she assured him, only partially exasperated. "And I appreciate the fact that you care. But I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself," she cracked a smile grin, "I know not to take candy from strangers and if he tries to invite me into an unmarked white van I'll be sure to run the other way and call the police."

Archie huffed a laugh through his nose and the noise seemed to break the remaining tension.

"Call me first, then the police."

"That's dangerous. And it's quicker to dial 911."

"What about speed dial?" he challenged. "Two less numbers."

Billy hesitated. "I don't have you on speed dial."

Archie's face morphed into one of theatrical shock.

"Are you kidding me? I thought we were family. Wow B, glad to know the truth. I'm taking you off my speed dial the second we get home then."

The two smiled at one another, clearly forgiven, and Betty's frame loosened as she grinned in relief. Archie inclined his head in silent invitation and the three of them naturally fell into step on the way to their last class with Archie in the middle.

Betty's smile curved into something more mischievous.

"So, are you guys going to the formal?" she nudged Archie playfully with her shoulder. "Anyone you plan on going with?"

Billy sensed the hopefulness in Betty's question, easily able to read past the faux innocence of the way she asked it. Unsurprisingly, Archie was oblivious.

"I don't know," he replied. "I don't really have anyone to go with."

"I'm sure Veronica would be happy to go with you," Betty suggested, though it was clear the words had an edge to them. "She seemed rather impressed with you."

"Really?" Archie asked like he genuinely hadn't noticed. Billy wanted to roll her eyes.

"I don't think I should," she inputted, steering the topic away from any potential hurt feelings on Betty's part. "I'm pretty sure Cheryl is planning to roast me over an open fire and sprinkle seasoning on my charred remains, and since this formal is kind of her doing…" Billy shivered, partially serious. "Probably not the best idea."

Archie sighed like Billy's words exasperated him. "Why are you on Cheryl's bad side already?"

Billy gave him an offended look. "You ask that like I have a habit of getting on people's bad sides. I'll have you know I'm generally a joy to be around."

"Yes, you are," Betty assured her before Archie could say something disagreeable and Billy leaned across him to smile at the girl gratefully.

"Thank you, Betty."

The blonde beamed at the praise. "You're welcome."

Archie rolled his eyes. "A joy to be around, apple of everyone's eye, blah blah… you were saying something about being a meal for Cheryl Blossom?" Archie tilted his head. "Also, when did she become a cannibal?"

"A _charred_ meal," Betty corrected him as they turned down another hallway.

"We don't need to discuss the intimate details of my demise," Billy denied immediately, feeling her cheeks flush as the moment between her and the fierce redhead flashed through her mind. Was it possible to get secondhand embarrassment from something she did herself?

"But I _want_ to know the intimate details," Archie pointed out, smiling out of the corner of his mouth. "Am I going to have to beat up a River Vixen?"

"I don't think you could take her," Billy muttered. Archie raised his eyebrows impatiently and she groaned. "I insulted her cheerleading and now she wants to poison me Game of Thrones style."

They paused between two classrooms and Archie looked puzzled.

"How can you insult someone's cheerleading before you've even seen them cheer?"

"It was more an insult to the activity itself and my utter displeasure at joining the team."

Archie's eyebrows rose to his hairline. "She asked you to join the team?"

She chose to ignore the incredulous way he asked it, as if the thought of her being part of a cheerleading squad both amused and baffled him.

"Indirectly asked me to try out is more like it. I said no in a very non-graceful way but Betty, on the other hand," Billy emphasized, tossing the girl a look whose cheeks pinked, "has agreed to try out along with Veronica."

Archie clearly thought Billy was being facetious but when her face remained stoic and unmoving Archie whipped around to face Betty.

"Wait, seriously?"

"It's not a big deal," Betty defended herself quietly, shrinking back into herself at the inquisitive way Archie was staring at her. She pulled at her cardigan shyly. "I mean, I figured why not? I've got nothing to lose, right? I probably won't make the team but there's no harm in trying and plus I didn't want to make Veronica do it on her own."

"You'll make the team," Archie assured her, completely missing the way Betty's face marred a delicate flush at his reassurance. "There's no way you won't. You're very peppy and cute," he quickly looked to Billy with wrinkled eyebrows. "Those are all qualities a cheerleader has, right?"

"Cheerleaders aren't your type, Andrews?" Billy teased, smirking to herself at Betty's rosy red cheeks. "That's surprising. I thought football players were required to date cheerleaders. Some type of code that all high schools have like the T-Birds and Pink Ladies in Grease. Oh wait," Billy lifted a finger, smiling impishly before pointing to the two individually. "One football player, one cheerleader."

Betty quickly shook her head, stammering and tripping over her own words while her blush traveled down to her neck. "No we're not—"

"Those things only happen in movies, Billy," Archie shook his head at Billy like she was naïve, grinning lightly and seemingly unaffected by the insinuation of him and Betty as a couple. Betty's shoulders slumped upon noticing this and Billy frowned inwardly at how obtuse her cousin was.

The three of them slowed to a stop next to an open classroom and Billy's mind turned like it had been on pause since walking and was now trying to catch up with the events taking place around it. She whipped her head from left to right, feeling a pang of panic surge in her stomach.

"Oh my god," she paled, palming her pant pockets frantically. "The bell's about to ring and I don't even know where my last class is!"

"It's right here," Archie gestured to the class they were standing next to and Billy's eyes flickered from the door to Archie, frowning.

"How'd you know?"

"I have an eidetic memory," he said seriously. Billy opened and closed her mouth, squinting at her cousin as if to determine whether he was lying or not, but Betty spared her by shaking her head.

"No he's not," she said, amused. "But he did memorize your schedule this morning."

Billy placed a hand over her chest. "Be still my heart, Andrews."

Archie rolled his eyes. "Get to class, Beatrice. Meet you at the lockers after."

Billy grinned at Archie before bestowing a quick wave to Betty, hustling into the classroom when she heard the bell ring.

Her last class flew by without any surprises or unpleasant student introductions. She had a steady collection of syllabuses piling up in her bag though and the mental image of Uncle Fred huffing and puffing as he signed slip after slip of paper made Billy crack a grin.

When the final bell rang, Billy tugged her messenger bag over her shoulder and followed the throng of chattering students out of the class and down the hall to the lockers. Billy had a brief moment of alarm, afraid that she'd once again forget where her locker was but to her relief she managed to find the correct one in record time. She replaced a few books in her messenger bag with folders, thankful that the teachers weren't cruel enough to assign homework on the first day. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through her Twitter feed until she felt a body saddle up beside her. She looked up from her phone and offered Archie a smile.

"So I've got try-outs to get to," Archie said as he led them through the building. "If you're cool with waiting until I'm done you can just hang out in the bleachers or in the library. If not I can just walk home, no big."

"I can stay," Billy shrugged. "It's not like I've got anything else better to do, right?"

Archie tilted his head in consideration, pursing his lips. "Touché."

She followed him out to the practice field, clutching her bag tightly as she spotted a herd of blue and gold jerseys collecting in the grass. She hadn't forgotten about her little episode at Archie's summer practice, her knuckles turning white as she eyed the boys shoving one another playfully, smacking each other's padded chests and grunting like Neanderthals. She mentally prayed that none of them remembered her or that her breakdown was just so uninteresting and anticlimactic in the world of jocks that they couldn't be bothered to care. A few heads turned when Archie came into view and the boys yowled and hooted in his direction for whatever reason and Billy glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

As if sensing her distress, Archie paused halfway to the field and turned to face her.

"I'm going to go change in the locker rooms so," he gestured theatrically to the silver bleachers resting a few feet away along the perimeter of the track, "make yourself at home. This probably won't take more than an hour."

"It's all good," Billy said, flashing her eyes cautiously at the jocks who hadn't taken their hawk-like eyes off of them.

She saw the one from that morning who'd wolf-whistled at Archie in the hallway, Mr. All Brawn and No Brains, nudge the boy next to him and mutter something in his ear. The two broke out into cackles and Billy's insides flipped, her heart rate spiking as their gazes flitted between her and Archie.

She licked her lips and turned on her heels, making her way through the grass until the turf of the track scraped beneath her shoes, willing the nauseous feeling in her stomach away. She stepped onto the bleachers, her footsteps echoing dully on the metal as she climbed up to the top. She secured herself a spot on the corner where she could drape her legs over the side if the mood struck her. She placed her bag next to herself before propping her feet up on the bench below, crossing her arms over her stomach as she watched the boys on the field do warm-ups. The coach – she couldn't remember his name – was standing off to the side with his stereotypical whistle and clipboard, eyeing the boys like a hawk as if sizing up a hearty meal.

She saw Archie jog onto the field a few minutes later with his gear on, helmet clasped at his side as he greeted the coach. Several more potential members slipped onto the field and then the coach blew his whistle, gathering them into a huddle. Billy quickly lost interest upon realizing she couldn't hear what was being said and directed her attention to her phone, deciding to give her Mom a call while she had the free time. She pulled up the number of the nurse's station before bringing the phone to her ear. It only rang twice before someone answered.

"Hi, it's Billy. I wanted to call and check up on my Mom. Talia Whitaker."

There was some shuffling on the other line. " _Hmm. I believe Mrs. Whitaker is with a counselor at the moment. If you call back in an hour or so she should be free._ "

Billy's shoulders slumped. "That's alright. Just forward the call to her room and I'll leave a message."

Once transferred she left a quick message for her mother before hanging up the phone, a resigned sigh leaving her mouth as she stared ahead at the boys running on the field without really seeing them. She perched her elbows on her knees and admired the sunny sky, breathing in the scent of the fresh breeze as the tall trees rustled behind her.

Her eyes strayed from the sky to the teens walking below the bleachers. Her gaze fell on them, uninterested, until she spotted a dark figure with a familiar beanie heading down the hill towards the road, his eyes trailing over his shoulder to glance at the field where the boys were doing their drills.

Billy perked up, glancing halfheartedly in the direction of the field as if afraid Archie could physically sense the potential interaction she was about to initiate, before pulling herself to her feet and hopping down the bleachers two rows at a time. She startled a group of kids sitting on the bottom two benches and she tossed a breathless apology at them as she landed in the dirt a few feet away before jogging around the bleachers to the boy's quickly retreating form.

"Jughead!" she called. The boy in question lifted his head to peer over his shoulder but his movements didn't slow. "Jughead, wait!"

She sped up a bit to catch up with him and at the last second he slowed to a stop, clutching his backpack loosely with one hand as the other was tucked in the pockets of his black jeans. He quirked a cautious eyebrow at her, seeming both surprised and unsurprised to see her there. She paused next to him and willed herself to catch her breath.

"Hey," she breathed. Jughead's other brow lifted and he looked reluctantly amused at her disposition.

"Bit out of shape there?" he asked.

"Something like that," she swallowed thickly, turning to look at the field before squinting over at him through a vexingly bright ray of sunshine. "Hey, I just wanted to apologize. For my cousin," she explained, thumbing behind her in his general direction. "Whatever happened back there, he was just being protective. I don't know if he made you feel weird or uncomfortable or whatever, but it was nothing personal. I don't know if you… if you felt weirded out by the situation or if it was something else, but if _that_ was the reason then I just wanted to say I'm sorry," she paused before clarifying awkwardly, "for that."

Jughead opened and closed his mouth before lifting a shoulder.

"It's fine," he said in a way that suggested it wasn't fine at all. "No big."

He made to walk away in what Billy would've otherwise concluded as a deliberate attempt to end the conversation but she quickly jumped forward, urging him to stop.

"I just… I'd feel better if you said you forgave me," she laughed uneasily. She was beginning to second guess herself now, like maybe she'd made the wrong assumption earlier. But since the metaphorical hole had already been dug, she might as well finish what she started and bury herself inside it. "Or forgave him, either one. I don't like when people are mad at me and I hate to think I maybe did something wrong, especially when I've only known you for like a month. It usually takes a bit longer than that before people get tired of me," she said, cracking a lame sideways grin at her futile bid at humor.

This time Jughead just looked confused. "I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?" Billy asked, unconvinced. "Because it kind of seemed like you were. Just a little," she pinched two fingers together. Jughead stared at the fingers before bringing his eyes back up to hers, seemingly unimpressed. Billy sighed and dropped her hand, shuffling from side to side in the grass. "It's just… you're sort of my first friend here. I mean, I've got my cousin, but it's different when you interact with people you're not actually related to, you know? I mean, if it's weird saying we're friends then I won't use the word 'friends'. I've used the term 'civil acquaintances' before and I'd be alright if you preferred that—"

"Billy," Jughead interrupted her. Billy's mouth remained open but words ceased from tumbling out of it like a waterfall, which was apparently Jughead's goal. He cracked a light grin at the redness coloring her cheeks. "First of all, stop saying 'I mean' and the word 'weird'. They don't even sound like they're part of the English language anymore," Billy bit the inside of her cheek as Jughead finally turned to face her fully. "Second of all, yeah. Maybe I was kind of mad, but not at you. If you haven't already noticed, I'm on pretty much the opposite end of the social spectrum from people like, say, your cousin."

"I wouldn't say he's really _social_ ," Billy tried to correct him but Jughead had already prepared a rebuttal.

"Jock," he lifted a finger. "Popular," he lifted another. "Buff," he lifted a third. Billy's forehead wrinkled.

"What's buff got to do with anything?"

"Plenty," Jughead said dryly. "He doesn't follow the same crowd I do."

"You mean the crowd of undead hipsters?" Billy tried, smiling hopefully. Jughead rolled his eyes but returned the smile nonetheless.

"Right," he agreed. "Anyway, I'm not mad at you. But if you insist on hearing those words specifically, I'll say them for your benefit: I forgive you."

Billy felt a smile spread across her lips. "Oh, good. For a second there I thought we'd have to exist in this weird limbo where we danced around each other in the school hallways for the next two years."

"You said 'weird' again."

"Sorry," she said even though she wasn't. She continued to smile at Jughead who shifted a bit in the grass. She opened her mouth to speak again before he decided to take off. "So are you going to the dance?"

Jughead furrowed his brows wryly. "Didn't we already have this conversation?"

"Maybe," Billy sang. "I had this theory that maybe if I asked again I'd receive a different answer."

Jughead snorted. "Your theory would be wrong."

Billy frowned, though she tried to not let her disappointment show.

"Oh… okay then, that's fine," she quickly laughed it off. "I probably won't go either. I'm not a dancer and they'll probably play a bunch of generic pop music I've never heard before."

Jughead seemed puzzled. "Why do you want me to go so bad?"

Billy felt awkward again. She shrugged a shoulder after a moment's hesitation.

"I don't know. I mean,–" Jughead narrowed his eyes at her and she chuckled, "my cousin'll be there and so will his friends so it's not like I'll be alone but… I don't know, I kind of feel like I don't really belong; like his life is this pretty picture I was never a part of until now and the painting's already finished so it's like the artist went back and drew a stick figure in crayon somewhere in the background." She clarified redundantly after a brief pause: "The stick figure being me."

"I got that part," Jughead said, grinning a little before scuffing his shoes in a loose patch of grass. "Didn't you say you lived here before?"

"Well sure," Billy nodded. "But that was a long time ago. Things change."

"I don't know if you noticed," said Jughead with a smirk, "but literally nothing in this place changes."

"The people do," Billy pointed out. "They grow up. He grew up without me."

"So let me get this straight," Jughead readjusted the strap on his shoulder. "You're asking me, a more or less stranger, to a school dance – which is mighty forward by the way, I already told you once you need to take me on a date first – as a replacement for your cousin with whom you've grown apart from because you're now a crayon stick figure?"

"I wouldn't use the word 'replacement'," Billy wrinkled her nose. "I like to think of it as… a trial run. Of friendship. We could go to the dance, separately but hang out together, and turn our noses up at the social hierarchy of Riverdale High whilst simultaneously wearing relatively nice clothes. And then while Archie is off gallivanting with his friends, I'll have someone of my own there," Billy mentally backtracked after the words left her mouth. "That came out wrong but you know what I mean."

"Well now I'm completely convinced," he quipped dryly.

"Thought you would be," Billy grinned, tucking her hands inside her back pockets. A whistle was heard off in the distance. "So what do you think? If you say no I'll just ask you again tomorrow because I'm convinced my theory really does work in repetition."

Jughead sighed heavily, gazing somewhere over her shoulder as he mulled over her invitation. When his eyes eventually settled on her again his posture loosened and his lips thinned.

"Fine," he said, sounding like he agreed to commit high treason with a convicted criminal. Billy's smile stretched from ear to ear.

"Really?" she bounced on her heels.

"You owe me."

"That's fine," she quickly waved his comment off. She bit the inside of her lip. "Can we wear matching outfits?"

He cut his eyes at her sharply. "No."

She tossed her head back and laughed. "I'm just kidding. I'll save that for the first date."

She grinned wickedly and Jughead groaned. He lifted his head back and gave the Heaven Help Me look.

"What have I gotten myself into?"

* * *

 **I know it's been months. I know sorry isn't something you guys want to hear. I know it's just going to sound like I'm making excuses. But honestly, the last couple of months have been absolute shit. I won't bother going into detail but to sum it up: a family friend passed away, I traveled across the country for the funeral, I got sick when I got back, work has been hell, and just recently my friend got married and I was the maid of honor. I know I lost some followers from disappearing and I don't blame you, and suddenly reappearing with a chapter half the length of what you're used to is shitty. To be honest I've had all of this written for like three months but never got around to writing more. I didn't want to post a chapter this short but I figured today that the best way to get back into it was to start small so I made the decision to post what I had. Thankfully there's enough content to pose as a real chapter, more or less.**

 **I also wanted to address a review I got a while back. ellidraco1014 asked how Archie could get his musical side from Billy's father if he's only related to him by marriage and not blood. Basically, I was basing it solely on influence - if you're around someone long enough or often enough, sometimes you inherit things from them. It doesn't matter if they're a blood relative or not. In this case, Archie may have in theory inherited Billy's father's love for music just from being around him and watching him play ****guitar.**


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